Going to see perfect days tmw Night, will report back.
Promised land is streaming now for 3.99, prolly gonna watch it
Interested to see stop motion too I think
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The Catcher was a Spy
7/10
I think this was supposed to be Oscar bait. Every person was a A lister. I did have a laugh at Paul Paul Giamatti being in WW2 again. Paul Rudd does good as an enigmatic spy. Everything was perfectly serviceable but there was no oomph to the film.
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Barton Fink was great! But I’ve yet to see a Coen bros flick I didn’t at least like and I’m a big Stan of theirs
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I loved Barton too. I mean it to be on the upper end. Ladykillers is just not good.
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I watched this one tonight, having loved John Magaro in Past Lives. This was really good stuff. Definitely felt some Modern Times inspiration here, with a fair amount of thematic overlap but set in a different genre and time period.
Always really impressed when a filmmaker can make this much out of a small idea and setting; this was my first Kelly Reinhardt and won’t be my last. Cool to see a quick appearance from Lily Gladstone before her Killers of the Flower Moon breakout.
Recommended viewing to those who haven’t seen it. It’s on Prime, but only for the rest of the month.
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Rewatching Executioners, starring Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung, it’s a goofy mess of a superhero movie. Definite camp classic. Director Johnnie To is super underrated, I’ve said that before. It looks great.
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Dune Part 1
I watched this a second time today. I didn’t really like it my first time but I liked it a lot more this time around. I think my first viewing was tempered by context as I was watching it with a group of non film nerd buddies who didn’t like it much.
It’s visually amazing. I’m looking forward to part 2.
That said two things still annoy me. The “shields” are the dumbest thing ever. They do nothing. I also didn’t like all the whispering.
Grade : B+
The shields are a plot device to make the combat about hand to hand, since they block bullets, etc. Herbert wanted the intrigue and the fighting to be pre-modern in a sci-fi setting and that’s part of the equation
They don’t block bullets. Dad guy dies by one of those heat seeking bullets.
It’s wild to me that Charlotte Rampling was in both Zardoz and Dune. Legit cult sci-fi legend.
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Saw perfect days tonight and liked it a lot, probably moreso than the other foreign ones this year
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The shield block fast moving things. The dart slows as it enters the shield enough to pass through.
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They show people die by exploration and shrapnel too.
It’s a very dumb idea that takes up a huge part of the movie for no reason.
Things the “shields” don’t block
Those heat seeking bullets
explosions
Shrapnel
Swords
Things they do block
Ummm nothing?
Maybe traditional bullets which I don’t think are even in the movie.
guys its a movie
The shields are just a kludge so that Herbert could write in a bunch of badass knife fighting sequences.
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I agree that Ledger is the #1 reason why TDK was so good, but I want to add that it was also subversive of the whole super hero genre in how it set up scenarios that the hero or anyone couldn’t just punch or shoot their way out of. In almost every single superhero story, and I mean that to include well beyond just Marvel and DC and to include ancient mythology, much sci-fi, etc., the strong hero just isn’t quite strong enough in the first encounter with whatever big bad it is in the story, and he needs some combination of a relic, helpers, divine blessing, training, etc., and then he becomes strong enough to beat the big bad with conventional violence. The Joker’s trials, notably the bombed ferries and especially the final standoff where the hostages are dressed as henchmen and the henchmen as hostages, could not just be solved by straightforward violence, and indeed, the Joker was counting on Batman and the police making the conventional choice for his victory. Turning that convention on its head is a big reason why the movie stands out as well.
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These are really good points.
I think also that TDK was also the most we’d ever seen Batman be Batman. It was awesome to see him need to be a detective and outsmart the villains in every way.
And then there are just so many great set pieces. I adore this scene of Batman jumping off the rooftop to fly to Lau’s building.
The opening robbery scene is fantastic on its own, and we can say that it’s not due to Ledger because of how minimal he is at that point.
I think the lack of Batman is in large part why TDKR was so disappointing.
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