Talk About Movies: Part 4
Somehow threads merged, so here's part 4 of our ongoing movie discussion.
Hearts of Darkness
Documentary about Coppola filming Apocalypse Now. Unbelievable how strenuous and difficult this film was to make. Coppola writing the script while filming, the delays, Martin Sheen's heart attack, and hosts of other problems. Ultimately Coppola is making a movie about himself.
But what really struck me was how supportive his wife, Eleanor, was throughout. She didn't care if they had to sell their house to pay off loans for the making of the film. She says that she could make do with much less than they had.
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Is anyone familiar with Coldblooded (1995)? It's a pretty obscure flick and would probably be a cult classic if more people knew about it. It stars Jason Priestley as a socially awkward character named Cosmo. Cosmo lives in the basement of an old folks home and answers phones for a mob bookie. In the opening scene he gets a call telling him that his old boss is dead and that the new one, Gordon (played by Robert Loggia), wants to meet the next day. At the meeting, Gordon informs Cosmo that he's being promoted to hitman. Cosmo says he's happy taking book and doesn't want to kill people, but Gordon replies, "The hours are great. You hang out most of the time. It's fun!" And it's settled. Cosmo hooks up with the senior hitman for training and ends up excelling at the job. Hilarious low-budget gem. Oh, and there's a great cameo by Michael J. Fox.
Speak No Evil - James McAvoy clearly had a lot of fun with this role. His beefy physique and wild charisma prove irresistible to an uptight American couple who he invites to stay with him and his wife.
The growing creepiness and horror plays out as an examination of the host-guest relationship. The guests try to be respectful and explain away their hosts actions even when they're disturbed or repulsed by them. Opportunities to run away aren't taken because the guests don't want to offend.
The shift from dread to outright violence is adeptly handled. I couldn't help myself from reading about the differences between this and the Danish original. Anyone who's watched a Hollywood movie can guess what the major change is, but I think this remake justifies its approach and doesn't unreasonably compromise. One major plot hole:
Spoiler
How could Paddy have got away for this for so long, killing so many people? He's targeting families who are reasonably well off and must have connections. No friends or relatives reported them missing? The victims never told anyone where they were going? Paddy tells Ben that no-one is going to miss him, but that seems unlikely.
Incidentally, curious if anyone else found that the volume seemed quite low. I was straining to hear the whole time. Maybe that's the cinema's fault rather than the sound mixing.
I saw the trailer for this a few weeks ago, and it was the first time I truly understood people complaining about trailers spoiling the movie. The trailer was pretty much every single major plot point except for the ending.
Clouds of Sils Maria - One has to pay close attention to the dialogue because there are few big moments. A few words and a slight shift in a facial expression mean a lot. Does it have to be quite so slow though? I don't think so. There are some intriguing psychological aspects, but the parallel between the play that Maria and Valentine are rehearsing and their real relationship is way too obvious and heavy-handed.
Is anyone familiar with Coldblooded (1995)? It's a pretty obscure flick and would probably be a cult classic if more people knew about it. It stars Jason Priestley as a socially awkward character named Cosmo. Cosmo lives in the basement of an old folks home and answers phones for a mob bookie. In the opening scene he gets a call telling him that his old boss is dead and that the new one, Gordon (played by Robert Loggia), wants to meet the next day. At the meeting, Gordon informs Cosmo that he's
I'm watching this right now, thanks.
RED ROOMS (Les Chambres Rouges) (2023 - Canada) I believe this movie was released in Canada last year but just got a limited USA theatrical release last week.
Model/online poker player/hacker Kelly Anne is obsessed with the trial of a man accused of heinous crimes in Montreal. She spends her days attending the trial in person and nights researching the case and the victims. Why the obsession? You'll have to watch the movie to find out.
This is definitely a slow burn movie (hint: avoid this if u don't like slow burn) but I was never bored. Kelly Anne is stone faced regarding her interest in the trial until the very end of the movie and you really are guessing if her intentions are to help or hurt. Great acting by relative newcomer Juliette Gariepy as Kelly Anne and also Laurie Babin who has a Squeaky Fromme-type obsession with the man on trial.
Technically Red Rooms was above average imho with great subtle sound design and camera work - lots of slow pans and zooms in confined spaces. I was not familiar with director Pascal Plante but he clearly has skill and I will be interested in his work going forward.
As I said earlier, the movie takes place in Montreal so it's 95% in French (with English subtitles, at least the version I saw) and 5% in English.
Thumbs up! 👍
interesting....will check that out
is there nudity?
hope so
i would like to hear john propose the alternative nudity rating scale
"Is there nudity?" can only be answered yes or no.
It doesn't say if there's nudity someone would or wouldn't go.
Or the same if there's no nudity.
My nudity rating would be based on if it's necessary to the plot or if it's just good nudity even if it's gratuitous.
I mean there is bad nudity.
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it's nice to get random titties thrown in there, something i really miss about films from the 80s and 90s is that they'd seem to include random tits for no reason and it's nice to see surprise titties not porno or irl sex titties but just titties that weren't the reason why you are there and are just a nice thing to observe along the way
like you're driving to work and see a fox with its babies in a field along the road, you didn't go on that drive in search of a fox family, you're not going to pull over and observe them longer, but it'll put a little pickup and cheer in you for the rest of your day
make american movies full of titties again
I just realized that I stopped watching the NFL when they stopped dwelling on cheerleader shots. 80s & 90s were the epitome of American artistry.
Monster by Director Hirokazu Kore-eda... Nominated for best director Palme d'Or and winning best Screen play 2023.
An outstanding Japanese Film bathed in the light of juxtaposition Film's like Rashomon, this tells a story of several incidents between a mother and a teacher at a Japanese school, and it mainly revolves around two young boys that are coming of age and the nature of personal Trauma.
There is even a little Radio Flyer in this Film... but the story is pure Japanese character building and personal psychological realization, and it is easy to see why the screen play is so highly praised.
phat mack gets it
peak cinema right here
was trying to remember what film has a scene where a really obnoxious character drones on and on about champagne and how it needs to be the right brand and it can't ever go flat and then gets really upset when his champagn bottle is either not cold or flat and orders another
i thought it was a tarantino thing because it feels like it but in searching for tarantino champagn scenes i found this, so i guess it was all worth it
