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

I watched Spider-Man: No Way Home. I was obviously aware of the conceit of the movie and thought it sounded like a cool idea. I found the movie to be pretty boring. I also found the ending to be pretty dumb. Forgetting Peter Parker wholesale instead of just forgetting Peter Parker is Spider-Man seems like a plot contrivance to just reset his power level for the future.

DarthJoJo wrote: The Outfit on Peacock. Mark Rylance is a cutter (NOT a tailor) who takes dead drops for a mob. Things escalate when his shop becomes a safe house when the boss’ son is dragged in with a bullet in his belly and the hunt begins for the rat.

It’s inessential but well crafted. There are no weak performances and engaging throughout. Worst part is probably the pun of the title.

Could be a solid little play as there are only nine parts and a single set.

I got about halfway through it before bedtime but enjoyed it. The annoying slang of "marbles" for bullets was a bit overused though.

I now want a bespoke suit

I watched Silverado (again) a few months ago and my wife said "Well, there you go. Now you never have to watch a Western ever again."

The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw - It was interesting. Set in 1956 but in a religious community that hasn't changed since the 1800's. Strong The Village vibes throughout except they tell you up front and the witchcraft is real. Good acting and atmosphere. I like that it doesn't spoonfeed you info about the witches. But unfortunately also feels like it should tell you a bit more at times. Sort of falls apart at the end in that there isn't any real closure. Definitely not as good as The VVitch but if you're a fan of that then this is worth checking out.

dysjunct wrote: The Spawn Cultural/Historical Education, Movie Edition (SCHEME) project continues apace:

ALADDIN (1992). Never actually saw this before, I was a teenager when it came out and too cool for Disney. Had the Disney cultural depiction warning at the front and I can see the need — everyone except Our Hero and Heroine had a prominent accent and the villains were so, so swarthy. But boy, what a movie. The plot and songs were fine, but absolutely gorgeous animation, so fully realized and really a complete worldview expressed dynamically onscreen. RIP Robin Williams and Gilbert Gottfried. Both of them took the movie to the next level.

THE JUNGLE BOOK (1967). Another disclaimer movie, I guess because the monkeys spoke some variant of AAVE? Didn’t seem as necessary to me as the one in Aladdin, but no one’s hiring me as their cultural sensitivity reader, so don’t trust me on this. Has kind of a picaresque feel to it for large parts of the movie, which makes it come off as a bit random. But the two main songs are stone classics. Gorgeous animation, although you see some hints of the decline coming that would plague Disney for the next 20 years.

I saw the movie Aladdin with a girlfriend in 1993. It was before for they dubbed out an offending line "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face. It's barbaric, but hey, it's home." from the opening song. Even 23 year old me went *blinka blinka* after hearing that line. Despite that, I absolutely LOVED the movie. Especially Frank Welker's portrayal of Abu. Robin Williams stole the entire movie. RIP Williams and Gottfried. I still say Gottfried's line from one of his shows.. "I want a MOIST pet."

Watched The Sea Beast on Netflix last night. It's from the creators of Big Hero 6 and Moana, It tells the tale of a young girl, who is fascinated by adventures on the high seas of monster hunting. She's in an orphanage, because her parents were lancers on a hunting ship and all hands are lost. She stows away on the Inevitable to be near her heroes and then both she and Jacob Holland are swallowed by the Red Bluster, a mammoth sea monster. But things aren't what they seem and then goes from there. The plot's straightforward with its themes (anti whaling, propaganda, and redemption), but still a really great movie. The facial expressions of the Bluster were the best.

The voice cast featured Karl Urban (Jacob), Jared Harris (Cpt. Crow), Sarah Sharpe (1st Mate Marianne Jean-Baptiste). The actress who did the lead Maisie Brumble (Zaris-Angel Hator) was absolutely adorable. I loved it.

I realize this is dubious praise, but The Gray Man on Netflix (released today) is the best film they have ever made. It's great.

Ryan Gosling is a CIA hitman who goes rogue. Chris Evans is a contract hitman hired to take him out. Chaos ensues.

Gray Man was fun but coming off of The Terminal List with its amazing attention to detail this film seems almost comical by comparison. Still, it is beautifully shot and watching Ana and Jessica play off Ryan and Chris respectively is pretty great. It's a shame Gosling didnt bother to get into shape for this though....

We went hiking up Wheeler peak at Great Basin National park this week and there was this guy in long pants, no shirt, wearing earbuds coming quickly up the three-mile, 3,000 foot elevation gain trail (10,000-13,000 feet at the peak). He looked a lot like Christ Pratt in the early days of Parks and Rec but told us he couldn't talk because he was trying to get to the top in an hour.

It took us about two hours to climb to the first major ridge at 11,400 feet, and we decided we didn't have enough gas in the tank to make the peak and turned around. Another couple we ran into talked to a guy in his 70s who has been to the top over 30 times.

So maybe Ryan Gosling was stealthily in shape, like those big power lifters.

It's a joke. Gosling has a shirtless scene and he is YOKED almost to MCU levels. Looks a little fake actually, mainly because the character has lots of scars, so there is some level of prosthetics or CG going on.

That bathroom scene almost ended my wife, seriously

A few weeks ago I did a movie battle on Twitter. Picked 32 movies I had not seen from the 30s to the 2010s and did a single-elimination bracket with them, with people voting on what I should see. I also ran loser's bracket for the ones that got eliminated in round 1.

The results were: (this is the order I'm watching them in):
1. Heat (1995, Mann) (winner of loser bracket)
2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948, Huston)
3. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974, Sargent)
4. Young Frankenstein (1974, Brooks)
5. Seven Samurai (1954, Kurosawa) (overall winner)

Watched Heat this weekend and loved it. Just a great time, and a ton of people are in it. Wild that Natalie Portman plays a li'l backpack wearing girl and then 4 years later is Queen of Outer Space.

The one I'm not super excited for is Young Frankenstein. With the exception of The Producers, I've never enjoyed a single Mel Brooks movie I've seen. I just don't find his stuff funny. But I'll give it a go.

After this is done, I have another battle featuring all 80s movies I haven't seen. Some real heavyweights in there: Predator, Goonies, Raging Bull...

Also found a list of all the movies mentioned in "Science Fiction/Double Feature" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and may watch those as well.

Legomancer wrote: 3. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974, Sargent)

Highly underrated.

Legomancer wrote: 4. Young Frankenstein (1974, Brooks)

I'll say it... overrated. I predict you'll be shocked at how bored you are while watching it.

I forget where The Professional dates compared to HEAT but Portman just came on the scene SO STRONG. One of the best child acting prodigies for sure even if she has kept her adult career somewhat muted versus what it might have been.

fightcitymayor wrote:

Legomancer wrote: 4. Young Frankenstein (1974, Brooks)

I'll say it... overrated. I predict you'll be shocked at how bored you are while watching it.

I predict I won't be shocked. I found Blazing Saddles to be a yawner.

I finally saw The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) last year, and I was favorably impressed. It's good but not great, but definitely under-rated. Seven Samurai is great, but long, and it usually takes me at least ten minutes to get used to the subtitles. A few of the subtitles are difficult to read due to light backgrounds.