Re: 12 Angry Men, it’s the one old movie that I feel comfortable pushing a recommendation on to people who think they hate old movies. One of my friends is really into movies and feels that way about the old stuff, and I told him that was the one movie he should break his rule for. He loved it. And as much as I would like to parlay that into getting him to watch more older stuff, I don’t have nearly the same confidence in any other pre-1960 movie as I do in 12 Angry Men, so I have never tried. That’s just how perfect and timeless it is. I always try to be sharp and customized in my recommendations, but there basically isn’t a type of movie lover who I wouldn’t recommend it strongly to.
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Not sure how they can market this movie now.
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Daaaaamnmmmmmmn that movie is officially DOA.
Did you watch the Scream TV series? I missed it but heard some good things.
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Too bad, the last two Scream films were quite enjoyable
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I watched this last night with my daughters. Very enjoyable.
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Saltburn. Decent movie, but to compare it to the director’s most recent predecessor, I don’t really hesitate to put it below Promising Young Woman. Feels like an especially difficult one to devote too many meaningful words to without spoiling, so let me go under the tags (and I recommend against clicking unless you’re completely cool with seeing crucial spoilers):
The ending brought it down for me. The reveal that Oliver was operating as a calculating sociopath from the very beginning of the field made it a less interesting overall work to me than what I thought I was watching, where the obscene decadence of the Saltburn estate may have just increasingly driven him to madness. I admit, this was me being stupid since I should have taken the reveal that he lied about his father in multiple ways to show just how sinister his character was, but I just don’t think it’s nearly as compelling of a narrative to follow a despicable villain as a POV character rather than someone with an ounce of sympathy behind them. I also was more negative than most on the clear comparison to this movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley, so that might be useful context for my reaction to this one.
Note: before seeing the movie, i encountered a review that noted in a vague way that there was some grossness related to bodily fluids. And there was. But that didn’t meaningfully bring the movie down for me; I had set a low bar of “just don’t include a 15-minute puking sequence and we’re good,” which it passed. I give this a 3/5. Could have possibly been a bit higher, but the grievance I air in the spoiler section persuades me to round down.
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It’s a huge exercise in willpower for me to not read the blurred part. Idk when I’ll be able to see this, but I adore Promising Young Woman. One of the few Blu-rays I purchased, mostly for the director’s commentary. She really helped me understand and appreciate why she chose that ending, and what critics of the ending were missing.
Count me as someone who liked the ending of that one but didn’t like the ending of this one. That said, this movie is plenty engaging throughout.
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Cheers. I’ll have to watch PYW again. Quite the supporting cast too with Alison Brie, Bo Burnham, Clancy Brown, Chris Lowell, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Connie Britton, and Molly Shannon.
Would you say Saltburn is worth whatever it ends up costing to stream VOD or better left for when it’s on a streaming service?
It’s not going to crack my top 10 of 2023 releases or anything. So I guess to pay a premium to see it earlier, you’d probably have to like it better than I did, though I can easily imagine you might.
As “getting too impatient for it to get to a streaming service, might rent” goes, I keep anxiously awaiting Past Lives, and it feels like $6 might not be too steep of a cost to satisfy my impatience.
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I think I’ll give it a go if it’s something like $5-10.
Past Lives looks great. I’d definitely pay $6.
Did you also like Minari? Steven Yeun proving to be a powerhouse actor I never saw coming. It’s been real nice to see him grow so far beyond what could have been merely a fan favorite Walking Dead character.
I saw and liked Minari, definitely like Steven Yeun. I’ve got even higher hopes for Past Lives just based on the raves.
I see that most of the streaming services have announced what they’re adding in December. Once Max does likewise, if it isn’t on the list I’ll probably just give up waiting and pay the rental price.
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Planes, Trains and Automobiles continues to hold up as The One True Thanksgiving Movie.
Saw X might be the best of them all. It’s perhaps best imagined as a spiritual sequel to The Game. If you know then you know.
As a side question, I was trying to think of what exactly makes a Thanksgiving movie since it’s not usually about the actual day. I think a Thanksgiving movie is a story that centers around getting ready for Xmas but not the actual event.
I couldn’t think of many Thanksgiving movies (Pieces of April comes to mind, but I think not enough people saw it for that to be culturally significant). On the other hand, I could think of tons of iconic TV episodes that center around Thanksgiving (Friends, The West Wing, Seinfeld, etc.), so maybe travel disasters and burnt turkeys just play better in shorter runtimes and with characters we already know and love.
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I think Last Holiday is a good Thanksgiving movie
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There are oodles of Thanksgiving movies, but they’re mostly Hallmark-like movies, rather than blockbusters with A-listers.
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Die hard is my favourite thanksgiving movie.
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At Napoleon, starting in 10 mins. Have some concerns as I’d prefer a lecture on the effect of Napoleon on the 1848 revolutions, or on his actual psychology/drive, or on his strategic thinking/generalship. My understanding is that the movie doesn’t treat any of these subjects or does not treat them accurately. Still, Blade Runner is a top 5 for me so I gotta support Ridley.