The Movie Reel

[Moxie]

The new "West Side Story" is better than the old one.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

The new "West Side Story" is better than the old one.

I have booked to see new West Side Story on Boxing Day which is the day after Christmas Day,it has had great reviews here in Sydney,I have seen it on stage 3 times,it is one of my favorite musicals.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Spiderman no way back home is a masterpiece

 

[Kieran]

Okay, so I got around to two Bond films, which the blurb had said were related to each other: On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and No Time To Die.

SPOILERS ALERT! But not huge spoilers. So I can now go back to Black Ink - and come out of bold typing!

I really enjoyed OHMSS. It had elements of being the classic Bond film. And a classic spy film. It also deepened the character in ways that many other Bond films haven't. Spoiler alert: he marries. Not such a huge spoiler, given that this is referred to in other Bond films. It has an involved clever tale, a lot of old school espionage, good action sequences, excellent cast, characters, music. And an ending that I won't spoil, but which leads me to No Time To Die.

One of the most obvious connections between both films is the song, “We Have All The Time in the World”, sung by Louie Armstrong. It was written for OHMSS, and in both films, Bond says the phrase at least once to his missus. It’s a good connecting piece, and the melody is woven into the incidental music in both films.

Now, just on this, there’s a very good film reviewer who’s on BBC radio, Mark Kermode, who argues that the different Bonds are not the same "Bond".

“This Bond is finished, but there are infinite other Bonds” - they’re obviously not the same James Bond because of the time differences in each movie. They’re each in a different time continuum. This discussion is very interesting, and takes place mainly in relation to the ending of NTTD. I wonder if others here are interested in this idea. But this song deliberately and strongly connects both films - but to what purpose? And does it connect both Bonds?

I enjoyed this film, but only sort of. There were some really good things in it, some not so exciting things, such as a fairly predictable car chase into a forest, the action sequences weren't particularly heart-stopping, and some of the attempts at humour, frankly, felt lightweight. And though I loved the cameos by Ana de Aramis, Billy Magnusson, and Rami Malek (yes, it felt like a cameo), most of the secondary characters were very undeveloped. I'd have liked more of Billy Magnusson's character. I'd have enjoyed Ana's part more if it didn't feel so much like a trailer to a spin-off.

We’ve had very good performances by villains in the Craig films – Mads Mickelson, Javier Bardem, Christof Waltz, the French bloke in Quantum of Solace – but Malek was only required to do a funny accent, and regurgitate old villain lines from multiple action movies. "You and me are alike, Mister Bond."

People had warned me going in that it was "woke" but I didn't think it was. It mocked the idea, of people expecting that, maybe, but the fact that the 007 number was now occupied by a black female didn’t make it woke. As they said, "it's only a number". But her presence (and this also would be the case if it was a male actor) often felt like she was there as the punchline in a joke. “Hello 007”, and they both turn around. Her role could have been more, and like the others I mentioned, she felt less like a character than a hastily assembled plot-device. Unfortunately, the same fate befell M, Q, Moneypenny, Tanner, stalwarts of the franchise, each had peculiarly slight roles.

I thought it lacked the grandeur and tension of other Craig films, and I thought that the ending was a terrible mistake, from the perspective of the bind it puts the future Bond films in. So it’s a Bond film that had one idea, which was to give us that ending, and in my opinion, it was a very bad idea.

I think, by the way, the only way they can move forward is to totally ignore the Craig era now - and not only because it covers all of Bond’s career as a double-o agent - and reboot as if it’s a different-though-same character, as per Mark Kermode’s suggestion in the video. There are ways of doing this, but none which get around the feeling that somehow they’ve limited their future options, and maybe a feeling that somehow they’ve cheated?

Of the two, OHMSS, far exceeded my expectations, NTTD did the opposite, but only sort of…

 

[Jelenafan]

Okay, so I got around to two Bond films, which the blurb had said were related to each other: On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and No Time To Die.

SPOILERS ALERT! But not huge spoilers. So I can now go back to Black Ink - and come out of bold typing!

I really enjoyed OHMSS. It had elements of being the classic Bond film. And a classic spy film. It also deepened the character in ways that many other Bond films haven't. Spoiler alert: he marries. Not such a huge spoiler, given that this is referred to in other Bond films. It has an involved clever tale, a lot of old school espionage, good action sequences, excellent cast, characters, music. And an ending that I won't spoil, but which leads me to No Time To Die.

One of the most obvious connections between both films is the song, “We Have All The Time in the World”, sung by Louie Armstrong. It was written for OHMSS, and in both films, Bond says the phrase at least once to his missus. It’s a good connecting piece, and the melody is woven into the incidental music in both films.

Now, just on this, there’s a very good film reviewer who’s on BBC radio, Mark Kermode, who argues that the different Bonds are not the same "Bond".

“This Bond is finished, but there are infinite other Bonds” - they’re obviously not the same James Bond because of the time differences in each movie. They’re each in a different time continuum. This discussion is very interesting, and takes place mainly in relation to the ending of NTTD. I wonder if others here are interested in this idea. But this song deliberately and strongly connects both films - but to what purpose? And does it connect both Bonds?

I enjoyed this film, but only sort of. There were some really good things in it, some not so exciting things, such as a fairly predictable car chase into a forest, the action sequences weren't particularly heart-stopping, and some of the attempts at humour, frankly, felt lightweight. And though I loved the cameos by Ana de Aramis, Billy Magnusson, and Rami Malek (yes, it felt like a cameo), most of the secondary characters were very undeveloped. I'd have liked more of Billy Magnusson's character. I'd have enjoyed Ana's part more if it didn't feel so much like a trailer to a spin-off.

We’ve had very good performances by villains in the Craig films – Mads Mickelson, Javier Bardem, Christof Waltz, the French bloke in Quantum of Solace – but Malek was only required to do a funny accent, and regurgitate old villain lines from multiple action movies. "You and me are alike, Mister Bond."

People had warned me going in that it was "woke" but I didn't think it was. It mocked the idea, of people expecting that, maybe, but the fact that the 007 number was now occupied by a black female didn’t make it woke. As they said, "it's only a number". But her presence (and this also would be the case if it was a male actor) often felt like she was there as the punchline in a joke. “Hello 007”, and they both turn around. Her role could have been more, and like the others I mentioned, she felt less like a character than a hastily assembled plot-device. Unfortunately, the same fate befell M, Q, Moneypenny, Tanner, stalwarts of the franchise, each had peculiarly slight roles.

I thought it lacked the grandeur and tension of other Craig films, and I thought that the ending was a terrible mistake, from the perspective of the bind it puts the future Bond films in. So it’s a Bond film that had one idea, which was to give us that ending, and in my opinion, it was a very bad idea.

I think, by the way, the only way they can move forward is to totally ignore the Craig era now - and not only because it covers all of Bond’s career as a double-o agent - and reboot as if it’s a different-though-same character, as per Mark Kermode’s suggestion in the video. There are ways of doing this, but none which get around the feeling that somehow they’ve limited their future options, and maybe a feeling that somehow they’ve cheated?

Of the two, OHMSS, far exceeded my expectations, NTTD did the opposite, but only sort of…

OMG, OHMSS had the late, great and incredibly sexy Dianna Rigg as James Bond's wife.

KIeran, did you catch the tennis connection with OHMSS ?

George Lazenby, in his one and only Bond role, was married to Tennis own Pam Shriver. Unfortunately in their bitter, VERY bitter divorce and custody battle , I'm sure they both wanted the other to "Die Another Day."

 

[Kieran]

OMG, OHMSS had the late, great and incredibly sexy Dianna Rigg as James Bond's wife.

Vince, did you catch the tennis connection with OHMSS ?

George Lazenby, in his one and only Bond role, was married to Tennis own Pam Shriver. Unfortunately in their bitter, VERY bitter divorce and custody battle , I'm sure they both wanted the other to "Die Another Day."

He prolly saw her list of conditions for divorce and said, sheesh, even The World Is Not Enough

By the way, that film title is another connection between OHMSS and NTTD..

 

[Jelenafan]

He prolly saw her list of conditions for divorce and said, sheesh, even The World Is Not Enough

By the way, that film title is another connection between OHMSS and NTTD..

Yes, Kieran , among the court records Lazenby also accused of Pammy of taking her nightly sleeping medication with Vodka, hopefully shaken, not stirred.

 

[the AntiPusher]

The Batman

The Batman is as dark as they could make it 3 2/3 great flick ...best since the Dark Knight!!!!

 

[Kieran]

The Batman

The Batman is as dark as they could make it 3 2/3 great flick ...best since the Dark Knight!!!!

I’ll looking forward to it!

 

[the AntiPusher]

I’ll looking forward to it!

It's awesome. It's goes back to the original Bob Kane's Cape Crusader who primary instincts of a very methodical detective. You should enjoy it.

 

[Kieran]

It's awesome. It's goes back to the original Bob Kane's Cape Crusader who primary instincts of a very methodical detective. You should enjoy it.

Oh very good! So it isn’t a variation of Christopher Nolan’s moody Batman? Batman as a detective sounds really interesting!

 

[the AntiPusher]

Oh very good! So it isn’t a variation of Christopher Nolan’s moody Batman? Batman as a detective sounds really interesting!

The movie explains why young Bruce Wayne was moody ..it goes into detail more than Christopher Nolan's Batman..this is definitely the BEST since the Dark Knight.

 

[Kieran]

The movie explains why young Bruce Wayne was moody ..it goes into detail more than Christopher Nolan's Batman..this is definitely the BEST since the Dark Knight.

Excellent news brother. Especially also when you say they go right back to the Bob Kane original idea for Batman!

 

[Jelenafan]

I need to know, Catwoman from Julie Newman, Earth Kitt ( her purrrrr is the best) Hale Berry, and of course Michele Pfeifer’s iconic take ( disturbed never looked so hot) how does Zoe Kravitz compare ?!

 

[Moxie]

I need to know, Catwoman from Julie Newman, Earth Kitt ( her purrrrr is the best) Hale Berry, and of course Michele Pfeifer’s iconic take ( disturbed never looked so hot) how does Zoe Kravitz compare ?!

I may as well start here with my Batman review, though I know this question isn't meant for me. From a straight woman, (we get to love her because, for many of us, she was our first female Superhero on screen, with Wonder Woman, I think,) I love them all, mostly. I liked Zoe's performance a lot, and she does look very hot in the outfits. (You'd have to be blind.) This Batman, like recent ones, gets away from the more cartoonish, so I think her performance ranks as the most nuanced and affecting.

I liked a lot of the performances in this film, a lot of bits in the art direction and stand-alone scenes, the way they were shot, etc., but I found it overly long, rather one-note (dark, somber, lots of rain, nearly always night.) It's indulgent in its pacing, and I think they could have lost the 3rd act. See it if you're inclined, but I do think it's overrated.

 

[Moxie]

Oscars are this weekend, and there are a couple of tennis-related notes. Power of the Dog: I didn't love it, and I will be disappointed if it wins Best Picture. It's interesting and admirable, and it "has a lot on its mind," as one critic I heard put it. It's a director's film, and I won't be sorry if Jane Campion gets the award for it. (see note below) But Benedict Cumberbatch is far from the most interesting performance in it.

Jane Campion made an unforced error in her speech at the upon winning best director at the Critics Choice awards. Venus and Serena were there because "King Richard," about their father, and their upbringing, was also nominated in various categories. (Will Smith has won a few awards for playing Richard Williams.) While she honored them in her speech, she then said, "but you don't play against the guys, and I have to." I'm sure some here will take her side and say she didn't mean any harm, but she dragged them in for no reason, and then served a backhand well-wide of the compliment zone. It was tone-deaf, and massive apologies have ensued.

I'd rather "Belfast," which I did love. I haven't seen "CODA," but it is surging, as a small film that actual people loved, not just critics. I also loved "Parallel Mothers," "The Hand of God," (both more quiet films from each director than you'd expect. I loved "The Worst Person in the World," whose lead actress should have been nominated, but of course it was in Norwegian. I liked "Being the Ricardos" more than most. Could have done without another Diana film in "Spencer," though Kristen Stewart is very good. Oh, and "King Richard" is much better than you would have thought. Haven't seen "The Tragedy of Macbeth" yet, but I may squeeze it in before Sunday.

You're welcome if this helps you in your Oscar pool.

 

[Jelenafan]

King Richard:
Will Smith is good as Richard Williams, relentless and annoying. However I thought the standout performance was Aunjanue Ellis as Oracene Williams, her spin on the long suffering and loving wife/mother who is fiercely protective of her daughters and more than aware of her husband’s shortcomings was great.

CODA was good, the underdog gritty story of a hearing impaired family and I like how it tried at times showing things from their point of view; the irony of having a musically gifted daughter they can’t hear but can see others reaction to her singing. Eugenio Derbez is a well known Mexican actor and it was nice to see him cast as the music professor who helps nurture her talent. The film had some quirky inventive touches, it’s really a “rocky” type of film.

Belfast I enjoyed, well directed and it’s folksy idealistic portrait of the Irish family ( Director Kenneth Branagh’s childhood revisited) amid the troubles in Northern Ireland, while heartwarming, I dunno, a little too fairy tale like for me to vote as Best Picture. Still a little surprised it didn’t get the lead actors playing the parents any acting nods.
Penelope Cruz in Parallel Mothers was fantastic, something about her and Almodovar just clicks. She’s pretty amazing , she so alive as a mother.
I’m not excusing Jane Campions silly comparison with the Williams but “Power of the Dog “ is such an interesting and original work and it doesn’t quite go the way you expect it to. It’s a very mature work and the acting is outstanding from everyone, Kirsten Dunst is exceptional.
As a science fiction geek loved the Dune got nominate, the film really did create the world of the novel.

West Side Story I would love for it to win because I didn’t think anyone could make that warhorse of a story fresh again and yet Spielberg did it. The camerawork and editing just flows and the numbers are all restaged in such a fresh take of the songs.

 

[Kieran]

I saw Power of the Dog and I enjoyed it, it was atmospheric, beautifully filmed, stunning score, Kirsten Dunst was brilliant, but I share @Moxie ‘s reservation about Benedict Cumberbatch. Probably he’s a very good actor but he was anachronistic in this role. I didn’t see the part he played, I only saw the player.

I saw Nightmare Alley, I enjoyed this one. It was a bit slow at first but very interesting, excellent acting, dark stuff indeed. Based apparently on a book which had been filed previously, in 1947 or 1957, which is highly rated too, so I wouldn’t mind to see that.

I enjoyed Don’t Look Up, and haven’t seen any of the others, I think. I’ll watch Belfast when I can, and The Tragedy of Macbeth, Drive My Car, because I like Murakami books, but the others don’t grab me, really…

 

[Jelenafan]

...I saw Nightmare Alley, I enjoyed this one. It was a bit slow at first but very interesting, excellent acting, dark stuff indeed. Based apparently on a book which had been...

The 1947 film with Tyrone Power in it, it's a really good film noirish type. Would love to see your comparison of both films.

The problem I find ( though the new film version is very well made and Toni Collette is such a good actress), is that nowadays making films in that old style can become more of an intellectual exercise, emulating and giving homage to the 40's look, so that it smacks of being studied. Old Film Noir was just made, sometimes on shoe string budgets, but now it's so engrained as a style that when they do it today it can look stilted.

 

[Moxie]

The 1947 film with Tyrone Power in it, it's a really good film noirish type. Would love to see your comparison of both films.

The problem I find ( though the new film version is very well made and Toni Collette is such a good actress), is that nowadays making films in that old style can become more of an intellectual exercise, emulating and giving homage to the 40's look, so that it smacks of being studied. Old Film Noir was just made, sometimes on shoe string budgets, but now it's so engrained as a style that when they do it today it can look stilted.

I haven't seen the old one, yet, while I liked the new one for its stylishness and Del Toro creepiness, I was really surprised that he made it too long, which it was. He's usually more "economical" than that, as a storyteller. None of those old noirs came it at anything like that long.