What MOVIE(s) have you been....seeing? watching?

RIP Julie Strain. HM2K was basically a love letter for his wife.

I'm surprised we have not seen more adaptations of HM stories. I may be over estimating it's presence in the US and the impact of that first film though.

I read somewhere years ago that Julie Strain was a big fan of Arkham Horror 2nd edition.

Watched Shang Chi because my in-laws could watch the boys, and it was the best option at our theater. It was a movie, closer to Captain Marvel than Black Panther, unfortunately. Some nice costumes and just the right dose of Awkwafina, but I don’t think it leaned into its strengths at all.

The MCU famously prefers its heroes to the detriment of its villains (which I’m cool with since the heroes are the ones who have multi-film contracts), but they screwed up Shang. They thought what makes him special is his East Asian heritage. It’s not. It’s his family of villains. If he’s going to be an Avenger and bouncing off Strange and Spider-Man and all the rest, make him the ruthless one, a little bloodthirsty even. It makes sense for his upbringing. Instead he’s just another guy doing the right thing because it’s right. He got a two hour movie, and I don’t know how to describe him. That’s a problem.

Shang-Chi wasn't a household name last year, but his original monthly comic ran for nearly 10 years. Although many of his adventures involved work with British spy agency MI-6, he was disdainful of their "games of death and deceit," and often only tolerated them for the sake of his friends in the agency. Shang was also a deep, philosophical thinker who frequently pondered weighty topics while fighting for his life. It's true that his father (Fu Manchu in the comics) raised him to be an assassin, but he turned his back on that life after his first mission due to the other wisdom that he gained through his intensive and extensive training in the martial arts. His name translates to "the rising and advancing of the spirit."

Sure. The thoughtful, philosophical hero could have been a solid, unique direction, too, but they don’t even hint at that as an option.

DarthJoJo wrote: Sure. The thoughtful, philosophical hero could have been a solid, unique direction, too, but they don’t even hint at that as an option.

It would have required narrative voice-overs during fight scenes. Worked fine in the comics, but probably not on the big screen, at least not for the MCU audience.

Shang-Chi was a fun martial arts picture- cool to see Wuxia elements brought into the MCU, even cooler to see a couple of the absolute titans of classic Hong Kong Cinema (Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung) make their way into the MCU roster of incredible actors and actresses. Awkwafina was great. But the real star of the show- Wong. Wong needs a D+ series more than any other MCU character.

Especially liked how the issue worth the Mandarin being botched was resolved. The only problem I had with it was that the Dweller in Darkness was kind of meh, the usual messy boss fight that happens too often in superhero movies. This is the kind of story that would have benefited from a quieter, more introspective wind up and finale.

Before the Kurosawa talk vanishes…please watch Dersu Uzala- it’s my favorite Kurosawa. It never gets the attention it deserves. It’s not a samurai film, it’s a Russian co-production. Beautiful and moving. And it had one of the most perfect shots in cinema history, you’ll know it when you see it.

Not sure if this qualifies, since I could only make it through half of it before turning it off, but Cry Macho is bad. Just bad. Granted, Eastwood has been past his prime for a while, as all of his recent films are him playing the same character (crusty, old guy who doesn't like the world but learns something new from it, anyway) in different scenarios. But this one is problematic from the beginning. The story is weak. His famous "one take only" directing style is starting to show its weakness, since he's now using actors who simply can't deliver in one shot (like Dwight Yoakam) and he can't carry a weak film on his own anymore. At 91 years old, he just doesn't have the energy to ensnare the camera and fill the screen with his presence. He doesn't have "presence" anymore. He's just too feeble. When he's standing in the cleanest cockfighting ring of all-time and debating young Eduardo Minett about how they should simply head back to the States to move in with the father Minett's character doesn't remember, I find it amazing that someone- anyone -from the production team didn't step in and say something like: "Yeah, this just isn't working." Because it doesn't.

Michelle Yeoh is in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, along with Ving Rhames and Stallone, laying groundwork for the 31st Century Guardians of the Galaxy. (she plays Aleta Ogord and Ving was Charlie 27.

I don’t mind her being both, don’t get me wrong, but she’s in the MCU.

Yeah, I got excited when I saw a billboard for "Cry Macho" because I thought it might be a nice Eastwood retrospective or maybe even an "Unforgiven" style last hurrah but seeing some behind the scenes of him tottering around the set.....wow he looks OLD. Still has the scowl and the squint but that's about it.

Has he ever directed his son? I'm kinda shocked those 2 haven't done a major western or a cop film together. Eastwood Jr seems headed to villain actor territory and needs a career defining role.

I was very disappointed in The Mule. I'm a big Eastwood fan (Good/Bad/Ugly is one of my favorite films, Kelly's Heroes deserves more recognition, and Mystic River is supremely underrated), but I wish he would retire.

I don't think I've seen Eastwood act in a film since UNFORGIVEN and I think I got this about right. I did see MYSTIC RIVER as my last Eastwood directed picture, and again, I capstoned his career at the right moment. I did see him yell at a chair for McCain I think? And I saw him look old in trailers for BOXER BUT A GIRL and OLD MAN SHOOTS but didn't catch those.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is my favorite film of all time. There are some great ones over the years. As for more "recent" Eastwood stuff, give me Unforgiven and Gran Torino, I don't need anything else.

BOXER BUT A GIRL was really good.

jeb wrote: I don't think I've seen Eastwood act in a film since UNFORGIVEN and I think I got this about right. I did see MYSTIC RIVER as my last Eastwood directed picture, and again, I capstoned his career at the right moment. I did see him yell at a chair for McCain I think? And I saw him look old in trailers for BOXER BUT A GIRL and OLD MAN SHOOTS but didn't catch those.

A woman that I was dating in the late '90s made me rent The Bridges of Madison County so we could watch it on VCR at my place on Valentine's Day night. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a decent date movie. Clint may have set a record for oldest male to star in a romantic movie. It wasn't a great movie, but it was good, and Eastwood's direction was part of what made it good.