The Movie House - Part 11

Banshees of Ineshirin 2.5/5
Bones and All 3/5

wouldn't recommend either

Been interestingly fascinated by 007 the past couple of weeks, saw 4 of the 5 Craig films and partly revisited my still favorite Bond film, Goldeneye. I made the mistake though of watching these films on my laptop, didn't connect it to a TV and that takes away from the appreciation I suppose.

Casino Royale, Skyfall, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre would be my ranking of those films, plan on watching No Time to Die today perhaps. Quantum of Solace probably really is better than apparently is mostly considered but I did find it somewhat "anonymous", and "cold", felt more like a bridge between the real superstars of the original Craig trilogy than its own full blooded thing, an epilogue and preview to other, bigger things.

Craig has a compelling look and presence, although sometimes his figure comes off to me as Mr. Bean like, I think he has a smallish head and a sort of metrosexual vibe to him that makes him come off a tad diminutive and precious at times.

I think Casino Royale and Skyfall were very good and good respectively considering what they are (action popcorn films with a tad bit of a more heady bent, aimed at a mainstream audience) but Bond's emotions sometimes come off more as impersonations of the real thing to me than the "real thing" and that doesn't help me connect as much with the whole experience. It's not Craig's fault. He did very well all things considered. I would much prefer a limited run, heady 007 TV series that could help flesh everything out more. It can be hard for characters like 007 or Rambo or even Solid Snake for that matter, to come off as human when they're these hyper idealized, indestructible monuments of... "masculinity."

Nothing beats Goldeneye for me though. That shit was incredible and it is probably even more heady and tries to tackle more things than even the best of the Craig films. Brosnan at his best was just as compelling as Craig, in his own way.  

Spectre is a disaster btw. What a missed, wasted opportunity. I was interested in seeing another Christoph Waltz film (I've only seen Inglorious Basterds and now Spectre) but I was disappointed to see that like someone on Youtube said, Waltz's characters seem to be all a shade of the same thing, the eccentricities that we see are just how he is in real life, which takes away from his Inglorious Basterds performance in the sense that maybe it wasn't the case of an actor with great range finding the right pieces within himself to play a chameleon-like unpredictable monster with a hard to pin point yet terrifying center. Waltz just carries the same energy everywhere. I have to watch more of him but more than rangy he's coming off as a one trick pony character actor, a very compelling one at his best, granted. I'm sure he can do more, if you deconstruct and pay attention to the nuances of his schtick then you can see that. I'll be on the look out.

Pedram wrote:

Tommy Shelby graduated from gang activity to theoretical physics. Inspiring

Watched Glass Onion, what a waste of time, massive downgrade from the first movie. 3/10.

Pedram wrote:

I will definitely watch, but i feel it wont be a classic Nolan movie like Memento(top 3 fav movie of mine), Prestige, Inception, Dark Knight, etc.

Feels like it will be like Dunkirk going to be a massive hit critically, but lack soul.

yah, getting the same vibes as Blue

Finally saw The Hunt for Red October yesterday. Similarly to films like The Thing, Glengary Glen Ross, Reservoir Dogs, or Margin Call, The Hunt for Red October is a snugly claustrophobic film, an intense and rewatchable film with a brilliant ensemble cast. Like the other films that I mentioned, for me the film feels very tightly wound, like it's taking place inside a living room with a roof that can blow wide open at any moment. The director of the film, John McTiernan (he's apparently been canceled by the movie industry for his unethical and illegal espionage shenanigans) also directed Predator and Die Hard, which are films that are also rather insular in their geographic scope, action, and feeling.

The film is well acted and shot, there are some shots and aesthetic choices that make it evident the talent of the director and his cinematography team. If anything in particular marrs the film I think it is that there's still an Americanized summer blockbuster sort of vibe running through parts of the film perhaps most evident through the actions involving Alec Baldwin's character. Some interesting enough action and story though, pulled of with good taste all things considered.

Sean Connery clearly has a show stopping presence, he and Stellan Skarsgard absolutely make the movie theirs.

I'd give the film a strong B, 8/10, or 3.2/4 stars.

Wh

The Madrid One wrote:Finally saw The Hunt for Red October yesterday. Similarly to films like The Thing, Glengary Glen Ross, Reservoir Dogs, or Margin Call, The Hunt for Red October is a snugly claustrophobic film, an intense and rewatchable film with a brilliant ensemble cast. Like the other films that I mentioned, for me the film feels very tightly wound, like it's taking place inside a living room with a roof that can blow wide open at any moment. The director of the film, John McTiernan (he's apparently been canceled by the movie industry for his unethical and illegal espionage shenanigans) also directed Predator and Die Hard, which are films that are also rather insular in their geographic scope, action, and feeling.

The film is well acted and shot, there are some shots and aesthetic choices that make it evident the talent of the director and his cinematography team. If anything in particular marrs the film I think it is that there's still an Americanized summer blockbuster sort of vibe running through parts of the film perhaps most evident through the actions involving Alec Baldwin's character. Some interesting enough action and story though, pulled of with good taste all things considered.

Sean Connery clearly has a show stopping presence, he and Stellan Skarsgard absolutely make the movie theirs.

I'd give the film a strong B, 8/10, or 3.2/4 stars.

What was your thoughts on Glengary Glen Ross?

I am in Sales that movie is very much liked from my profession obviously.

i enjoyed Glengary Glen Ross quite a bit awesome acting, can never go wrong with Pacino

It's been a while since I've seen Glengarry Glen Ross but I remember it as being very compelling in its depiction of a purgatory-like existence where there's no black and white, just dire grey hues; a world where everything is a transaction, a play, a game. And there's just one thing at stake. Survival.

An arguably instructive film not only for for sales work, but for the human condition.

"Always be closing."

Anyone seen Deep Water, with Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas?

I thought that their characters, and that of their daughter's were interesting on a superficial level, but only superficially because ultimately their characters feel a bit like caricatures with no souls.

Remove the provocative gloss and there's not a lot of meat imo, the meat there is comes off as tofu. Shame as it was an interesting premise. Most of what's good is what's suggested and the questions that it makes you ask, the ultimate suggestion or question being what could have been if the characters and story didn't feel like a bad cartoon. Not the two main actors' faults, they were good with what they got.

exact same feeling ^^

Pedram wrote:Watched Glass Onion, what a waste of time, massive downgrade from the first movie. 3/10.

utterly disappointed too... felt like a caricature of a film

Not a big whodunit fan so I found both the original and this one lukewarm personally, but I really liked Janelle Monae's performance in this one just as Ana de Armas stood out in the first one. Was the highlight for me.

https://letterboxd.com/o_cav/list/first-time-discoveries-in-2022/

as always i will make my best of 2022 films list the morning of the Oscars

pretty ironic how this phenomenal year came just before the first MCU movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mWK0mitlT8

Oof, I was about to try to write a wall of text for my own amusement on Andrew Dominik's Blonde but I'll stop myself. I enjoyed watching it and thinking about it as an audaciously pretentious and self-indulgent exercise on the aesthetics of authorial and collective myth-making. Imagine the experience as watching a talented but unfocused, fledgling, and deeply troubled 21 year old art school aesthete fingering herself in front of a mirror with different poses for 3 hours, enjoying the tastes of her own juices as she, in a drugged out stupor, tries to allegorically refract Monroe's life into her reflection.

This is the second film I watch starring Ana De Armas and I must say that my impression of her is as a strikingly beautiful and talented actress with impressive range that has nonetheless been cornered by her screenwriters and directors twice now into corners inhabited my manic-depressive, nigh psychotic, hollow caricatures.

When it's all said and done, i'd probably give this 2.5/4 stars, using Roger Ebert's ranking imagery. Interestingly enough, now that I check, that's what the reviewer on Ebert's website gives it as well.

Finally saw Top Gun Maverick. One of the few proper blockbusters been made in Hollywood last decade. 8/10.

Just seen The Northman. Better late than never?

Why is this movie an exception, and not the rule in today's cinema? It happens in the distant past, and it feels genuine and authentic to the time frame. It's weird but in a good way, true to the "source material", without underlying tones of contemporary political discourse.

What a rarity. To say that the movie is weird is the highest compliment because the characters actually behave as if they were actually there and then, instead of translating 21st century demeanor and vernacular into a 10th century setting and often trying to convey some forced, non-organic message because-you-have-to-project-your-insecurities-onto-everything-you-write-and-you-just-can't-help-it

Really enjoyed The Northman in a way I just didn't enjoy the Lighthouse. I still think The Witch is my favorite of Eggers' work thus far though.

I guess seeing another Skarsgaard be a Viking warrior just worked in a very satisfying way.

The Fabelmans: 2.5/5
https://letterboxd.com/o_cav/film/the-fabelmans/

Aftersun: 2.5/5
https://letterboxd.com/o_cav/film/aftersun/

Triangle of Sadness: 3/5
https://letterboxd.com/o_cav/film/triangle-of-sadness/

Really have to disagree with you on Aftersun. I watched it last night and was reduced to a sobbing mess. Haven't felt that way after a movie since Manchester By the Sea.

But Manchester by the Sea was a depressing slog (and I loved it). It doesn't hide from you with what it is the entire movie. You're brought along a man's unbearable sadness and tragedy for the length of it, urging and hoping that there can be some redemption or something that can allow himself to be redeemed in his own eyes. The film leaves you with a little bit of comfort, but not much. Aftersun, on the other hand...

Spoiler:

It's one of my favorite films of the year. I haven't watched many, but Banshees of Inisherin, The Menu, and Aftersun are my top 3 right now

fair, many people seem to love it... but you also mention all of the reasons why it didn't work for me in your review

Fair enough, I'm bummed you didn't have the same experience. But that's life, a couple above us praise the northman, which I was really let down by. It felt so flat to me. It was fine, but nothing more probably

Before the Oscars lie to you tonight, and spread their petty politics, let me tell you what's up...

https://letterboxd.com/o_cav/list/2022-in-film/detail/