That's Life (1986) - credit to Blake Edwards for letting Jack Lemmon play him as the most insufferable prick to ever have an iota of charm and to make a neurotic rich white people living in Malibu dramedy look so, so ridiculously gorgeous.
This wouldn't be made today, though for the sake of accuracy it was barely made in the mid-80s: an Edwards passion project starring wife Julie Andrews as well as their adult children from previous marriages (playing the adult kids of Lemmon and Andrews), and filmed mostly on location in Edwards & Andrews' own Malibu estate for purposes of budget reduction/verisimilitude/ego, this is a surprisingly indie Hollywood affair. Nonetheless, even if made today sans all the rich white people angst it would probably look like it was filtered through bird crap and we as the contemporary audience deserve better - we deserve adult dramas and romantic comedies that look as pretty as That's Life at least.
Anyway, a defeated Jack Lemmon suffering from erectile dysfunction standing in his tighty whiteys in the portico of an under construction Malibu villa overlooking the Pacific Ocean after he's failed to perform during an aborted affair with a younger, beautiful millionaire heiress is pure cinema. _________________ Under New Management
I really enjoyed the Snyder cut. I understand that comic book movies aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and the Snyder ones shrink the audience even more but if you like comics, or even just enjoy the lore and world building of fantasy epics, this is well worth it.
Even just as a display of how a directors vision and studio interference can make or break a movie, the difference between the 2 versions of the film is remarkable.
Even just as a display of how a directors vision and studio interference can make or break a movie, the difference between the 2 versions of the film is remarkable.
I am hopeful that now that the Snyder Cut has been released we can finally stop hearing about Zack Snyder’s “vision”, which is the most discussed and deified vision in the history of visions. _________________ 14-5-3-12
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90316 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 6:06 pm Post subject:
If he gets any more celebrated vision, There Will Be Blood. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Let's Dance (1950) - This needs to be remastered and widely distributed so bi-confused teens can see Betty Hutton in mustachioed cowboy drag reverse cowgirl riding Fred Astaire so as to maybe figure some things out. _________________ Under New Management
Modern blockbusters have been infantilizing since their inception (thank you, Lucas and Spielberg), but it seems like the Hollywood super hero genre has accelerated that process over the past decade or so.
I respect that Snyder has a more mature vision for the spandex clad ubermenschen that he wishes to express through his own stylized genre tropes, but at the end of the day CGI'd robot men and lasso women and spiky silver demons from wherever planet or dimension are stupid, stupid (bleep) - just dumb childish nonsense.
I think of how Taxi Driver in the very "difficult cinema" lauding 70s was only the 17th highest grossing film the year it was released while Joker (2019) made a billion dollars and earned the same number of Oscars and I'm blown away. I re-watched Taxi Driver last week and it still feels vital and dangerous and horrific and human whereas Joker feels like trite, safe, poseur nonsense.
And I guess I wonder, does this pop cinema that says nothing to you about your adult life satisfy you? _________________ Under New Management
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29583 Location: La La Land
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:43 pm Post subject:
Baron Von Humongous wrote:
And I guess I wonder, does this pop cinema that says nothing to you about your adult life satisfy you?
Would you say the Lord of the Rings trilogy is pop cinema? Cause there are some quotes and themes in there that satisfied me as an adult.
Same goes for some Nolan blockbusters including the Batman films. _________________ "Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”
Last edited by kikanga on Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
Let's Dance (1950) - This needs to be remastered and widely distributed so bi-confused teens can see Betty Hutton in mustachioed cowboy drag reverse cowgirl riding Fred Astaire so as to maybe figure some things out.
One of the great Astaire solo dance numbers: _________________ Under New Management
But knowing it is 4 hours long is ... intimidating.
watched it... regretted it.
it was basically the same thing, only more bloated, oversized, overdramatized... it was 4hrs and still left me wanting some context...
now I get why WB wanted something different in 2017. never has the saying "less is more" been so true
I hope they find other people who can tell a story better when they reboot the whole DCEU _________________ "Now, if life is coffee, then the jobs, money & position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold & contain life, but the quality of life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."
Even just as a display of how a directors vision and studio interference can make or break a movie, the difference between the 2 versions of the film is remarkable.
I am hopeful that now that the Snyder Cut has been released we can finally stop hearing about Zack Snyder’s “vision”, which is the most discussed and deified vision in the history of visions.
Well he did have at least 2 WB movies where the studio decided to cut and/or change his movie which caused both to perform poorly at the box office. If something like this happened with Netflix and they decided to cut The Irishman down to 2 hours and add more jokes I’m sure people would be upset and want the #ScorseseCut
I feel like this should be a win for creators seeing as how the fans lobbied for the creator to release their version, proving that the studio was wrong about what the audience wanted.
But knowing it is 4 hours long is ... intimidating.
watched it... regretted it.
it was basically the same thing, only more bloated, oversized, overdramatized... it was 4hrs and still left me wanting some context...
now I get why WB wanted something different in 2017. never has the saying "less is more" been so true
I hope they find other people who can tell a story better when they reboot the whole DCEU
I haven't watched it and will probably pass on it for now because of time constraints. But I'm dubious about the remedy to a bad Zack Snyder film being... more Zack Snyder.
I feel like this should be a win for creators seeing as how the fans lobbied for the creator to release their version, proving that the studio was wrong about what the audience wanted.
I would argue the studio was wrong about what the audience wanted when they hired Zack Snyder and his “vision” to oversee the entire slate of DC movies that nobody seems to like. _________________ 14-5-3-12
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29583 Location: La La Land
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 7:18 am Post subject:
Finished the behemoth.
Thoughts:
*Should've been a show. Four 1 hour episodes, or eight 30 minute episodes.
*Had a vibe of epic-ness the film released in theaters didn't have.
*Avengers casts a huge shadow. And it is worse than those movies in more than 1 way. But the most glaring. The largest way. Is writing. The dialogue is rough.
*Too much slow-mo. Made it a bit corny at times.
*Tough going from Christian Bale to Ben Affleck in terms of Batman.
Spoilery thoughts: (highlight to see)
Quote:
*They found something special with the alternative universes thing. Apparently Snyder wanted that to be a sequel. I keep coming back to: it should be a show. I'd watch multiple seasons if they would've expanded the multiple universes thing.
*Superman was too strong. I really don't see why people love an invincible, omnipotent being as much as they do. So unrelatable.
*Like that the Martian Manhunter payoff was there. And if you add in the lanterns. Then I'd be excited to watch a movie with that full Justice League.
*The themes were so shallow, and alot of it was because the dialogue was so one the nose.
*Do like how Zack utilized music and gave everyone their own mini origin story. Downfall to that was 2 1/2 hours into a 4 hour movie, Superman still wasn't there.
_________________ "Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”
And I guess I wonder, does this pop cinema that says nothing to you about your adult life satisfy you?
Would you say the Lord of the Rings trilogy is pop cinema? Cause there are some quotes and themes in there that satisfied me as an adult.
Same goes for some Nolan blockbusters including the Batman films.
How old were you when you first saw the LOTR trilogy? Or when you read the books? _________________ Under New Management
Even just as a display of how a directors vision and studio interference can make or break a movie, the difference between the 2 versions of the film is remarkable.
I am hopeful that now that the Snyder Cut has been released we can finally stop hearing about Zack Snyder’s “vision”, which is the most discussed and deified vision in the history of visions.
Well he did have at least 2 WB movies where the studio decided to cut and/or change his movie which caused both to perform poorly at the box office. If something like this happened with Netflix and they decided to cut The Irishman down to 2 hours and add more jokes I’m sure people would be upset and want the #ScorseseCut
I feel like this should be a win for creators seeing as how the fans lobbied for the creator to release their version, proving that the studio was wrong about what the audience wanted.
It's a win for AT&T Time Warner trying to boost HBO Max streaming subscriptions. _________________ Under New Management
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29583 Location: La La Land
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:45 pm Post subject:
Baron Von Humongous wrote:
kikanga wrote:
Baron Von Humongous wrote:
And I guess I wonder, does this pop cinema that says nothing to you about your adult life satisfy you?
Would you say the Lord of the Rings trilogy is pop cinema? Cause there are some quotes and themes in there that satisfied me as an adult.
Same goes for some Nolan blockbusters including the Batman films.
How old were you when you first saw the LOTR trilogy? Or when you read the books?
Damn Dark Knight was 13 years ago. LOTR 18 years ago. I wasn't an adult. _________________ "Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”
Thoughts:
*Should've been a show. Four 1 hour episodes, or eight 30 minute episodes.
*Had a vibe of epic-ness the film released in theaters didn't have.
*Avengers casts a huge shadow. And it is worse than those movies in more than 1 way. But the most glaring. The largest way. Is writing. The dialogue is rough.
*Too much slow-mo. Made it a bit corny at times.
*Tough going from Christian Bale to Ben Affleck in terms of Batman.
Spoilery thoughts: (highlight to see)
Quote:
*They found something special with the alternative universes thing. Apparently Snyder wanted that to be a sequel. I keep coming back to: it should be a show. I'd watch multiple seasons if they would've expanded the multiple universes thing.
*Superman was too strong. I really don't see why people love an invincible, omnipotent being as much as they do. So unrelatable.
*Like that the Martian Manhunter payoff was there. And if you add in the lanterns. Then I'd be excited to watch a movie with that full Justice League.
*The themes were so shallow, and alot of it was because the dialogue was so one the nose.
*Do like how Zack utilized music and gave everyone their own mini origin story. Downfall to that was 2 1/2 hours into a 4 hour movie, Superman still wasn't there.
great inputs... I now understand why WB decided to scrap this one, which was confusing at the time.. this cut is better suited for like a 4-episode special, not the theaters... it dragged from start to about the middle...
it wasn't a very family oriented one, and would have been rated over PG13... WB would have lost money - 4hr run plus the fact that children won't be able to see it... it was not worth it given the plot/script is not too strong to begin with. _________________ "Now, if life is coffee, then the jobs, money & position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold & contain life, but the quality of life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."
If he gets any more celebrated vision, There Will Be Blood.
There were 3 flicks in 2007 that could've won the Oscar for best pic in different years. In 07, No Country For Old Men won it. Same year, There Will Be Blood and the epic The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It's a mini-miracle that three films of their lot were made in one year and a relatively recent one. The Jesse James movie is on right now, was just watching a little of it, tho I have seen it a few times in full. Unfortunately, I think Casey Affleck screwed the rest of us w/ some kind of MeToo antics because we got stuck w/ the Affleck who's a (bleep) actor. It's like getting stuck with one of the non-Alec Baldwin bros. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Baron or anyone, have you seen Annihilation (2018) feat JJ Leigh and Natalie Portman? Weird flick, but an interesting concept. One of those movies that had me thinking while watching it, "I wonder why they never thought of this concept before". Seems to me they could've made a better movie out of it if it was a bigger-budget affair, but still.
Watched it twice, and it would've benefited from a Disney-level CGI budget, but I appreciate a digital effects heavy film that embraced color and light rather than bathing everything in sludgy hues.
The exposition/character development breaks inbetween the impressive set pieces were where the movie was weakest, which surprised me given Garland's background. The muted tone the film was going for didn't lend itself to the theatrics of other ensemble descent into hell genre movies like The Warriors or Aliens, but I thought the character beats were pretty perfunctory and performances a bit too robotic.
The CGI bear monster and ending sequence were very innovative and haunting, though, and elevated the film along with the themes it was attempting to explore. Overall I thought it was good, ambitious, and idiosyncratic, but fell short of potential greatness, which maybe colors my perception of it too much. _________________ Under New Management
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