The Movie Reel

[Kieran]

^No one would have any objections if these people created their own characters to further their agendas. That's fine. But instead it's always about replacing well developed characters. Just look at She Hulk. They make it seem like she's more powerful than the Hulk. That she knows better than him about how to use her power. Like she's better than him with no character arc. No tribulations to overcome. No one can empathise with such perfection. And it's an obvious lie. Hollywood has done this so many times in recent years. Women kicking mens asses and telling them why their stupid and useless. FFS.. the struggle is what makes the character interesting. There's no understanding about the human condition and basic story telling. I could excuse the screenwriters perhaps if there was evidence that the consumer wants this, but all of these movies are bad. They don't do well in the box office. It's both artistic and financial sabotage. And I don't get why the movie studios put up with it. I'm glad to see that the DC franchise recently put a torch to a lot of the crap they were about to release. Any idiot would tell you they were doomed to bomb in the box office. Focus on entertaining the audience. All these people who want to shove woke nonsense down our throats with a view to educating us can go fuck themselves.

It’s primitive story telling but the real problem is that the people writing these stories aren’t “writing stories”, they’re promoting their radical political agenda. So men are to be belittled, woman are equal in action scenes, minorities have to be boostered and proven to be better than white people. There’s a TV show called For All Mankind which was great in season one. It’s an alternative history show that begins in 1969 with the idea of wondering

Spoiler: Plot

what would the world be like if the Soviets reached the moon first?

It explored this premise very intelligently. Until the second season.

You can imagine all the catastrophes that befell it, but to keep a long story short,

Spoiler: The way they ruin things

the hunks were neutered, the women rose to every prominent position in America, but to make sure all the boxes were correctly ticked, they were black women, Asian, lesbian, illegal alien, as well as the token white women. And guess what, they largely acted like traitors. Peaceniks disarming America in the face of credible threat, after the Soviets acted as aggressors.

It became embarrassing to watch. It was ruined. It was worse than “basic story telling” - it was propaganda. And in a very funny scene

Spoiler: Evidence of critical mass stupidity among the writers

the Soviets meet the leading American space team and stare at the bunch of characters as if they’re thinking, “I know this is alternative history but….WTAF.!”

It was smug, self righteous, condescending, irritating. The “alternative history” imagined by the writers was really only a Trojan horse where they could lecture us, under the guise of imagining days back then as being like the days they want in the future. It was as if the writers didn’t know our care about how or why alternative history stories work. They were simply ramming a completely anachronistic and false idealism down our throats. Foundation was the same: you can easy tell who’s the bad people - they’re the white people. The heroes are the black people, especially the ass-kicking black girls. No amount of nasty whiteys can hinder their balletic moves. The actors by the way, are all excellent in this, they’re blameless but they’re merely props for dodgy politics. Like the audience, they deserve better.

It’s a pity but I agree with you, these things fail at the box office because they’re terrible story tellers, but also because people aren’t stupid, and certainly not as stupid as the makers of these shows and films…

 

[Jelenafan]

What is the worst "scene" in a movie you guys have ever seen? It could be a montage of a bigger scene, just a simple dialog that made you cringe, or even just a word like "whoa" from Neo on top of the building in Matrix. A scene that was so useless you wondered how the hell they left it in there after all the editing...My one candidate is :

- The beach volleyball scene in Top Gun. In addition to doing nothing to further the story, its sole purpose was to show some young dudes displaying their abs...every time i see that scene, i cringe...And they are such bad players...

True, but then you wouldn't have that scene as the prime example of Quentin Tarantino’s infamous “critical” analysis of “Top Gun” as the ultimate homo-erotic film of our times.

 

[Moxie]

"She Said" is a very good film in the vein of "All the President's Men" and "Spotlight." Investigative journalism "thriller." Very well-acted and well-written.

 

[Federberg]

True, but then you wouldn't have that scene as the prime example of Quentin Tarantino’s infamous “critical” analysis of “Top Gun” as the ultimate homo-erotic film of our times.

awesome scene! Watching it again, I have to admit... it got me thinking

 

[Moxie]

For the film lovers out there, do yourselves a favor and see it on the big screen. I'm surprised that some of the reviews are so mixed.

 

[don_fabio]

Glass Onion, a sequel to the Knives Out didn't really live up to the standard of the original movie. It was entertaining enough to make me watch through, but more or less that's it. Characters and the storyline were much better in the original movie.

 

[Kieran]

Glass Onion, a sequel to the Knives Out didn't really live up to the standard of the original movie. It was entertaining enough to make me watch through, but more or less that's it. Characters and the storyline were much better in the original movie.

Yeah, I felt the same. It felt like Hercule Poirot on steroids. The suspects were all uninteresting, there were too many obvious turns. It didn’t have the wit or twistiness of the first, which is not promising..

 

[don_fabio]

For the film lovers out there, do yourselves a favor and see it on the big screen. I'm surprised that some of the reviews are so mixed.

I see Olivia Colman stars in a lead role, she's a good actress. I will see this one. Her previous movie "The Lost Daughter" was worth watching too.

 

[Kieran]

I just saw "The Banshees of Inisherin." It is an amazing and devastating film. I'm trying to figure out how to say something, without saying too much. Not that there's a spoiler. It's too subtle for that. It's being billed as a "Black Comedy," I think. And if you saw the two leads in the McDonagh's "In Bruges," which is genius, you might be forgiven for expecting more "comedy" in this one, which is quite a lot more leaning towards the "black." McDonagh also directed "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." If those went dark, then darker, this is the darkest. All of the performances are amazing, the cinematography is gorgeous, and a nod to the set direction and costuming. And Carter Burwell's music. But it's really the script that is like music. Every word is note-perfect. IMO. But I'm curious to hear from @Kieran, when you see it. Not just on the language but on the "Oirishness" of it.

Finally got to see this one, on Disney plus unfortunately, and not in the cinema, but the screen timings for this weren’t helpful to me.

There’s little to quibble about with this one - certainly there are elements of “stage Oirishness” to it in parts, but we to have to remember that those islands off the west of Ireland stood isolated from the mainland, from Britain, from Europe, forever almost. So it’s hard to know if it’s stagey or real. I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. The islands each have indigenous cultures and their own specialties among the arts. And they can be dark, windswept, rain lashed places. Even now, they’re rugged, so I imagine at the time the film is set - a hundred years ago - they were brutal places, hard on the body, hard on the soul.

This is a dark film, very little comedy to earn the “black comedy” tag, which I’ve also seen. Watching it reminds me of how easy the word “nice” trips off the tongue of Irish people. Maybe English people are the same? “What do you think of this coat?”

“It’s nice.”

“How was your lunch?”

“Nice.”

“How your holiday in Nice?”

“Very niece.”

There’s a good angle on this in the film, where Pauric (Colin Farrell) is condemned by his best friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) as being “nice, but dull.” Pauric thinks being nice is enough. Nobody knows what nice is, by the way. When we say something is nice, it’s generally a disinterested way of joining the conversation. It says nothing at all, but it doesn’t offend. And therein lies the problem for Pauric. He’s nice, but dull, according to Colm, and from there the film descends into a terrible hell for both of them. Colm at one stage confesses to feeling occasional despair, and that‘s the root of his actions towards Pauric, and a starkly, towards himself.

There’s layers in this one, and it never backs down in dragging both of them into this dark hell. The last scene is chilling. The performances are excellent, including Kerry Condron as Pauric’s sister, and Barry Keoghan as the one they all wrongly dismiss as being the village idiot.

It’s beautifully filmed, though today I watched Fellini’s 8 1/2 and I think Banshees might have been even grimmer and more effective in old faded B&W like that one. It would have aged it. A small quibble, given how great it is…

 

[Moxie]

Finally got to see this one, on Disney plus unfortunately, and not in the cinema, but the screen timings for this weren’t helpful to me.

There’s little to quibble about with this one - certainly there are elements of “stage Oirishness” to it in parts, but we to have to remember that those islands off the west of Ireland stood isolated from the mainland, from Britain, from Europe, forever almost. So it’s hard to know if it’s stagey or real. I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. The islands each have indigenous cultures and their own specialties among the arts. And they can be dark, windswept, rain lashed places. Even now, they’re rugged, so I imagine at the time the film is set - a hundred years ago - they were brutal places, hard on the body, hard on the soul.

This is a dark film, very little comedy to earn the “black comedy” tag, which I’ve also seen. Watching it reminds me of how easy the word “nice” trips off the tongue of Irish people. Maybe English people are the same? “What do you think of this coat?”

“It’s nice.”

“How was your lunch?”

“Nice.”

“How your holiday in Nice?”

“Very niece.”

There’s a good angle on this in the film, where Pauric (Colin Farrell) is condemned by his best friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) as being “nice, but dull.” Pauric thinks being nice is enough. Nobody knows what nice is, by the way. When we say something is nice, it’s generally a disinterested way of joining the conversation. It says nothing at all, but it doesn’t offend. And therein lies the problem for Pauric. He’s nice, but dull, according to Colm, and from there the film descends into a terrible hell for both of them. Colm at one stage confesses to feeling occasional despair, and that‘s the root of his actions towards Pauric, and a starkly, towards himself.

There’s layers in this one, and it never backs down in dragging both of them into this dark hell. The last scene is chilling. The performances are excellent, including Kerry Condron as Pauric’s sister, and Barry Keoghan as the one they all wrongly dismiss as being the village idiot.

It’s beautifully filmed, though today I watched Fellini’s 8 1/2 and I think Banshees might have been even grimmer and more effective in old faded B&W like that one. It would have aged it. A small quibble, given how great it is…

I appreciate your weighing in. As I said in mine, be cautious of the "black comedy" label...it's very dark. And you're right to peg the word, "nice." It speaks to a lot of things, including how far is an "artist" allowed to go in deciding that others in this life are too dull for them. How far to you go for art?

Funny that you mention the way it's shot. I heard they were oddly blessed with glorious sunny days, because you might have thought it'd be moodier. Well, interesting choice. A less cliched one, if you like. (Not to say anything bad about the option, as I did think of it. And 8 1/2 is one of my top 5 films, to be clear.)

 

[Kieran]

I appreciate your weighing in. As I said in mine, be cautious of the "black comedy" label...it's very dark. And you're right to peg the word, "nice." It speaks to a lot of things, including how far is an "artist" allowed to go in deciding that others in this life are too dull for them. How far to you go for art?

That’s another great aspect of the film, that Colm made a brutal and cruel choice based upon Pauric being “nice but dull.” I had some sympathy with him on this this because he was obviously aware that his life was not what he wanted it to be, and who could he blame for this? He could have left the island and pursued a different life on the mainland, but he turned his regret onto poor Pauric. It’s a film about many things at once, which is what a few people who I know have missed, when they said it was terrible, it was too slow, etc.

And funny enough,

Spoiler

after poor Jinny died Pauric became very interesting indeed!

.

As for how far you go for art, there was a certain integrity on what Colm chose, but no tact or compassion at all. He might have gone further for his art if he’d “nice.”

Funny that you mention the way it's shot. I heard they were oddly blessed with glorious sunny days, because you might have thought it'd be moodier. Well, interesting choice. A less cliched one, if you like. (Not to say anything bad about the option, as I did think of it. And 8 1/2 is one of my top 5 films, to be clear.)

I suppose I used the wrong word, “quibble”. It’s beautifully filmed. And yes it might have been cliched to go B&W. It might not have been effective. The washed out look on 8 1/2 makes it seem older than it is. And of course, B&W focuses the mind in a different way, which may had added a claustrophobic gothic thing to it. I wonder if he was tempted to do it like Parasite, and print a B&W version? Probably not, for good reason.

I’d never seen 8 1/2 - definitely an extraordinary film. I think I could watch it again today, tomorrow and the next day and be swept away differently each time…

 

[Jelenafan]

Speaking of Black comedies,

Now this film just dropped in HBOMax here in the States, still also playing in theatres called “The Menu”, I would best describe it as black comedy/horror, starring a stellar cast including Ralph Feinnes, Anya Taylor Joy, Judith Light, John Leguizamo, Nicholas Hault, etc.

I'm usually not a big horror fan, and yes there is blood, but it's more in the Korean film "Parasite" genre, added in with Jordan Peele's "Get Out'/"Us" with satirical jabs at the foodie trends and the societal class/economic divide. Fiennes is the Master Chef of a world renowned restaurant (over 1K for a 6 course prix fix dinner), Janet McTeer plays the type of imposing food critic that can skewer others with a quip, and the whole cultish adoration of master Chefs is so deliciously/horrifically sent up in the film.

 

[Jelenafan]

I loved Avatar-the Way of Water.

Say what you will about Cameron movies (cheesy dialogue, etc) but he can hit you at the gut level. Amazing world created, it's insane levels of detail and I thought the characters were fleshed out better than in the first film. There were shades of Aliens, The Terminator, The Abyss (highly underrated IMO) and of course Titanic. Again I loved it.

 

[Moxie]

Glass Onion, a sequel to the Knives Out didn't really live up to the standard of the original movie. It was entertaining enough to make me watch through, but more or less that's it. Characters and the storyline were much better in the original movie.

I finally saw this. I agree with you. It was a bit too twisty for its own good. And broad. But entertaining, I'll give it that.

 

[Jelenafan]

“Everything everywhere all at once” starring Michele Yeoh is a glorious and surreal mess in the best sense of the word. Like all great fantasy, it makes sense on its own level. Drama, SciFi, farce, comedy and throw in a couple of other genres and you still can’t begin to describe it.

A harassed laundrymat owner ( Yeoh)facing an IRS audit, a crumbling marriage and estrangement from her daughter suddenly is thrust as the savior of the multiverses of existence. Trust me, it makes sense within the film. “Verse jumping” is crucial to her survival and the absurd antics required have to be seen to be believed.

Just enjoy the ride , marveling at the emotional payoff at the end. Michelle Yeoh is fantastic, and Yeoh’s costars , Ke Huy Kuan as her husband ( as a child actor he was Shortround & Data) Stephanie Anne Hsu , and Jamie Lee Curtis are equally good.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Has anyone seem Tar yet? I am going tomorrow, from the reports I have read Cate Blanchett gives one of her/ if not best performances.
Another film I missed out on was The Menu with Ralph Fiennes, work got in the way, sad to say, friends of mine saw it and urged me to try to see it, maybe I can pick it up on Stan,etc.

 

[Moxie]

Has anyone seem Tar yet? I am going tomorrow, from the reports I have read Cate Blanchett gives one of her/ if not best performances.
Another film I missed out on was The Menu with Ralph Fiennes, work got in the way, sad to say, friends of mine saw it and urged me to try to see it, maybe I can pick it up on Stan,etc.

I haven't seen either. A friend of mine says that The Menu is wicked good fun. Tar is what it is, as I understand. Lots of very good, but also very long. I'm so sick of 2'30" movies.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I haven't seen either. A friend of mine says that The Menu is wicked good fun. Tar is what it is, as I understand. Lots of very good, but also very long. I'm so sick of 2'30" movies.

I know Tar is long, I understand your point of view, though apparently from my friend the time goes fast, with the dialogue, twists and turns in the film.I will be taking snacks with me

 

[Kieran]

Top Gun Maverick is a fantastic film, I wish I’d seen it in the cinema! Very exciting, and lean too, no flashy emotionalism, typical Tom Cruise action stuff, one of his best, actually…

 

[Horsa]

Top Gun Maverick is a fantastic film, I wish I’d seen it in the cinema! Very exciting, and lean too, no flashy emotionalism, typical Tom Cruise action stuff, one of his best, actually…

My sister wanted me to go see it with her. I said "No".