Talk About Movies: Part 4

So good!

Watching Michael Mann's The Insider for the first time it came out...good movie, but it really suffers anytime Diane Venora, as Jeff Wigand's wife, is on screen. Not sure what it is about her, but I've never liked her as an actress. I know she's well-regarded in theater circles, but her performances in film always seem to be just that - theatrical. And they don't bring much to the movies she's in.

Might not be her fault, as the roles she's usually in is long-suffering housewife, and that's no fun. Just like in Mann's other Pacino movie, Heat.

But she just rubs me the wrong way and brings down otherwise interesting movies.

"I'VE GOT THREE DEAD BODIES OVER HERE!"

yeah, The Insider hasn't aged that well. It's still decent, but not great. Has too much of that late 90s slo-mo to church choral type stuff...jittery handheld for no reason, etc. Could've cut 30 minutes from it.

Venora was fantastic in Heat, perfectly cast, and frustrated wife/MILFy hot, but I get it. Never liked Bracco or Gandolfini, though lol their scenes were pretty much the only ones I liked in Sopranos. Never could get past Spider & LSVZ supposed to be tough guys, and I always wanted to call Paulie Walnuts Wally Peanuts.

She should’ve played Petra’s boss or the Madam at Grama’s brothel.

While watching Poor Things I was constantly reminded of a shirt I saw Andre 3000 perform in: “Art or Fart?” I’ve liked other Yorgos movies but I found this one deeply unpleasant and struggled to finish it. The first half in particular was almost irredeemable. Ruffalo was by far the best part for me, so it picks up when he gets the screen.

I can appreciate the effort that went into the set design but largely found that off-putting too. They even found a way to make naked Emma Stoke unattractive somehow. I think her performance was technically impressive but it didn’t make me feel anything and therefore was overrated. Much like the movie as a whole which left me feeling like, what was the point? Final verdict: it’s a whiff.

is it just me, or is there a subtle subtext to this A24 Unicorn Lamp from the film Death of a Unicorn?

LOL. Base nub’s on the wrong side.

Read the plot summary on wiki, also LOL, pass. Did they cast the elk from Ring Two to play the unicorns?

Frankie and Johnny, directed by Harry Marshall based on a play by Terrence McNally.

Al Pacino is released from prison and gets a job as a short order cook at a diner in NYC. One waitress, Michelle Pfieffer, catches his eye, and they eventually begin a romance.

Almost every cast member comes from the diner and all are perfect, with Hector Elizondo as the diner owner, Jane Morris as the chain smoking, ugly duckling waitress, and Nathan Lane as the gay next door neighbor. She has a great dance scene with Pacino.

Part of the Criterion collection of NYC love stories.

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I remember seeing the play oof-Broadway many years ago....love the movie, too

Someone told me they like to play Pictionary, and all I could think of was "baby fish mouth.'

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I did enjoy Poor Things more than I thought I would. Same with The Lobster, another of Yorgos’ films. His last one though, Kinds Of Kindness was infuriatingly bad. I was genuinely pissed off throughout but stuck it out in hopes it might be worth it. It was not….

Hot take: The kitchen poker scene in Training Day is almost as good as Funny How & Shine Box.

September 5 came on one of my movie channels. A retelling of the hostage situation at the 1972 Olympics, from the point of view of the people in ABC's control room.

I couldn't put it as a must-watch. Interesting, it held my attention. Ultimately, it wasn't really that memorable though.

So, there’s going to be four Beatles movies? One from each members POV? Fully authorized by Paul Ringo Yoko & Olivia? I guess these guys are the directors?

Spoiler

Show

Last dude looks like Mark Zuckerberg. 😆

The Northman (2022)

Personally and I gotta be honest, I can take or leave Robert Eggers. I didn't mind The Lighthouse but The VVitch bored the crap outa me and I really didn't think much of Nosferatu either. So I was kinda leery going into Northman, but I'm glad I watched it as I ended up really quite liking it and found it a slow burning but absorbing, atmospheric and effective revenger and it's easily Eggers best so far, for me.

The North an is great...but I find it hard to take seriously anyone who thinks The Witch is not a masterpiece.

Will there be a 5th movie where they all come together to fight Thanos?

I agree, Dom, although I take everyone seriously. I think Witch is his best film. Or is that VVITCH.

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Who's who? I got John.

And tell me who these two remind you of?

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RIP Val Kilmer, that I will remember most fondly from the movie that I have watched the most often in my life, as it came out when I was 15 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJu9nfVC...

He had a wonderful under the radar run with The Salton Sea, Wonderland, & Spartan

Watching a Q&A with Darren Aronofsky from a few years ago; loved this comment.

"A lot of [my] films were made in the Paris Hilton era, and I was just screaming, 'Hey, there's a lot of other things to think about.' But I feel like there's been a shift where people now kind of believe in this terrifying future that science is pointing for us, and it's now the responsibility of artists to write stories that create a promise and a future for our youth to lean towards. I think dystopian fiction is a crime at this point and should be outlawed. They're making another Hunger Games, and they should not be doing that. And we need to start painting exciting futures that can come if we dream it. We need more Star Trek."

I'm admittedly in the minority re the Witch and I will say I thought its set design looked great and I really liked its conclusion. However while I appreciated Eggers' dedication to realism, the Olde English speak annoyed me and the worst flaw of any film for me is to be boring.
Now, all that said, I do mean to revisit to give another chance as everyone else seems to lve it, so hopefully I'll change my mind the second time around.