Last Movie You Watched

[André]

It's not an historical film; it's a mashup of the Henriad.  It has Falstaff in it.

Yes, and it manages to send Falstaff where Shakespeare never sent him.

[Todd]

Yes, and it manages to send Falstaff where Shakespeare never sent him.

Correct.  It's not meant to be a strict film adaptation of the plays.  That much is clear in the quality of the dialogue.  Criticizing a film for being factually inaccurate when it is based on plays that are factually inaccurate seems unusual.

[Madiel]

The Hurt Locker



Fairly good. I have a thing about explosions, though, so I was somewhat distracted by spending too much time worrying an explosion was going to suddenly happen. The actual explosions turned out to be fairly tastefully done and weren't simply trying to make me jump for the sake of it.

There was one particular scene that temporarily wrecked my suspension of disbelief, because even for a character that was built around being wild and reckless the behaviour was so fundamentally dumb. And what I couldn't believe was that 2 other characters went along with it in any way shape or form.

[Christo]

Few nights ago on Netflix:
The Two Popes (2019) w/ Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce; short synopsis below (much more at the link) - excellent reviews and we enjoyed - highly recommended - Dave

 

I also watched The Two Popes the other night. 

We, spouse & spouse on the sofa, will see it tonight, Netflix. Thanks for the recommendation! 

I've meant to see Dangerous Liaisons for 30 years. Finally got around to it.

Meanest John Malcovich ever. 

[listener]

A BOY AND HIS DOG   1975
The only film I have encountered directed by Leroy Q. Jones
Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Susanne Benton  with some unexpected
craft credits at the end that I'll play the commentary to see if there's an explanation.
I won't use the word "recommended", someone for whom this is unsuitable may take me up on it.

and Ernst Lubitsch 1920 Die BERGKATZE
with Pola Negri.
"Style crazy"   lots of vignette framing throughout.    Using the military for comedy was not popular in Germany in 1920 (is it ever?)

[Madiel]

Arrival.

Loved it. Intelligent, moving... and had that magical moment where so much of what I thought I'd seen was upended. A brilliant way of utilising how we have these storytelling conventions in our head and will follow them.

TOTALLY need to watch at least the first half again.

[LKB]

Arrival.

Loved it. Intelligent, moving... and had that magical moment where so much of what I thought I'd seen was upended. A brilliant way of utilising how we have these storytelling conventions in our head and will follow them.

TOTALLY need to watch at least the first half again.

I enjoyed this film in the theatre. Different, and the opening act had an emotional authenticity which reminded me of Jodie Foster's early scenes in Contact.

( insert squid emoticon here ),

LKB

[Karl Henning]

Starting with over the holiday:

A Christmas Story, recommended by Ken
Scrooged, which appears to be a favorite by my sister's
The Producers
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which I particularly enjoyed
The Princess Bride, always a feel-good affair
And Conspiracy Theory, a Julia Roberts movie I do enjoy.

[milk]

Whiplash. Wow! This is certainly worth discussing on GMG. What do YOU think is the meaning here? To me, music is not sport. And Charlie Parker was a drug addict and died young so, downside. This music does manage to give a kind of cinematic picture of music. I'm not sure there's anything like this for the classical world.

[mc ukrneal]

Whiplash. Wow! This is certainly worth discussing on GMG. What do YOU think is the meaning here? To me, music is not sport. And Charlie Parker was a drug addict and died young so, downside. This music does manage to give a kind of cinematic picture of music. I'm not sure there's anything like this for the classical world.

It's an excellent movie, one that makes you think long after the last note is played.

[milk]

Okay I read the Wikipedia article on it.  While it is, no doubt, an exaggerated account for dramatic effect - the jazz scene, especially in NYC is very competitive.  Miles Davis compared playing jazz to boxing.  I worked as a jazz bassist for 15 years and know first hand the kind of aggressive behavior between musicians that can occur.  The teacher portrayed in this movie (granted, I haven't seen it yet) probably thinks he is preparing his students for the real world of the career they think they want to enter.

Yes, I think all of think all of this is there in the film. It's not that complicated but the film does a great job of translating that intensity and cruelty as well as putting one in the middle of the music. There's something ironic about it since it seems to me that one needs a kind of freedom to create art and this competitive style makes everyone (as it's portrayed) tight and nervous. Also, I have kind of bias that I admit is stupid. To me, me, jazz really does seem aged. It's rare to play Thelonius Monk is a new way and there's isn't going to be a great innovation like Monk in jazz. Maybe that's just a bias but jazz seems much more constricted than classical and not worth killing oneself over now (which is different than 50 or 70 years ago).
I would think the kind of insane pressure is even more common in classical - I'm pretty sure there's way more competitions.
My impression of jazz may be wrong and I guess either way the competitive attitude exists in anything that demands a high level of perfectionism. The movie could just as well be about tennis.

[Christo]

Few nights ago on Netflix:

The Two Popes (2019) w/ Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce; short synopsis below (much more at the link) - excellent reviews and we enjoyed - highly recommended - Dave

 

We saw it last Sunday, highly recommended indeed! Possibly the most impressive new film I saw in years - everything superb, dialogues, casting, game changers all the time, original music, historically, literally everything - a big winnner IMHO. 

[Karl Henning]

The freedom pf playing jazz is somewhat of a cliche.  It requires as much disciplined practice and mastering of your instrument as classical musicians are accustomed to doing.

Absolutely!

[Madiel]

I actually have Whiplash borrowed from the library right now so I'll watch it within the next week or two.

[milk]

I just finished watching it; it was predictable, in the G.I. Jane mold: abusive drill sergeant forces talented private to reach their full potential only through the crucible of his grueling process of humiliation and abuse.  But the talented private digs down deep and rises from the ashes of his destroyed ego and triumphs in the end.

Okay for what it was, but a bit over the top and not very credible.  Funny how the Charlie Parker story I alluded to previously figured in the movie.

The thing is, professional jazz musicians don't use super fast tempos that much, and most playing situations are not with a big band.  However, jazz schools are built around the lab band, or as in the movie a "studio" band. 

The jazz scene has been changed over the last thirty years because of the proliferation of university jazz programs.  All the greats we know about did not develop from that kind of system, jazz came from the streets and a skill set establishing street cred was necessary to survive.  I guess the people who made this movie wanted to bring some of that street stuff to a university program setting.  I spent a semester at North Texas State University (Denton, Texas) that had one of the best jazz programs in the US at that time (still does).  Now it is called the University of North Texas.  Some top flight players came out of it, Marc Johnson, Lyle Mays, Bob Belden, Billy Harper, Marv Stamm, and a bunch of others I'd have to look up.

There were lab bands from 1:00 PM (the best) through 10:00 PM.   When I entered I was placed in the 3:00 band, I had been playing professionally and could swing and solo and play changes but my reading chops needed some work.  If I had stayed I probably would have moved up, but my life took a detour and I dropped out.

While the program was demanding, a teacher like the character "Fletcher" in the movie would never have existed.  Not only is that NOT how you motivate musicians, but as happened he would have been removed from his job the first time he laid his hands on a kid.

Okay movie, not realistic.

That all seems true to me but, on the other hand, where I live - here in Japan - this does seem like the go to method of teaching and practicing for various kinds of competition. I felt the movie worked if one discarded some of those aspects out of hand. I had to suspend disbelief with those scenes focusing on speed. Maybe the movie SHOULD have been about sumo wrestling or tennis. Technically, the movie is very well done even lacking verisimilitude. Kind of not surprising it's the guy who made La La Land. ETA there's tons of news stories about coaches abusing kids in sports programs in Japan. Maybe classical music too.

[milk]

There are several misconceptions in your post about jazz. 

1. Charlie Parker began using heroin when he was around 15 and was a serious addict by the time he was playing saxophone in jazz groups on the road and then New York.  He was the first one to tell other musicians not to start with drugs, but there was the idea that in order to play like Bird, using heroin was part of the equation.  During the '50s probably 50% of jazz musicians used heroin, for a few years mostly, and then stopped.  For a few musicians they never quit and ended up dying from their addiction.  They did not think they were "killing themselves over jazz", they just could not stop using the drug despite the downward spiral they knew they were living.  Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and others all quit and had productive careers.

2. There is continuing innovation in jazz, with every generation, and it is a very dynamic and vibrant scene.  Playing Monk in a new way does occur, but that is not the point.  The music has developed beyond Monk.

3. The freedom pf playing jazz is somewhat of a cliche.  It requires as much disciplined practice and mastering of your instrument as classical musicians are accustomed to doing.  But the difference is that the music by and large occurs in night clubs.  A lot of pushing and shoving (figuratively) in order to cull the scene of its weaker members, leaving only the best and strongest.  Very Darwinian.  Plus there is the real economic reality that there are not enough gigs to go around, and not enough money in the scene, so that everyone who wants to play jazz simply cannot make a living at it. There are many stories of musicians being humiliated at jam sessions, Charlie Parked was by Jo Jones, and he went on to practice for two years before returning.  I think, to a degree, classical musicians are also competitive.

I am going to watch the movie today and may post about my reaction later.  Thanks for posting about it.

yeah, I know my idea is silly. It comes down to subjectivity. There's not much in the way jazz innovates that interests me. I tend to like that old stuff because it's so rough. The idea of precision, for example, is uninteresting. But I should research jazz a bit more so I don't seem so ignorant. 

[Madiel]

I'm trying very hard not to read any of this dissection of an Academy Award-winning movie from someone who'd never even heard of it until I've actually seen it myself.

[SimonNZ]

Obama's favorite films of 2019:



I'm a little ashamed by how few I'd even heard of, and, after checking, dispirited by how few have made it out here.

Ash Is Purest White and Birds Of Passage sound especially interesting

[milk]

I'm trying very hard not to read any of this dissection of an Academy Award-winning movie from someone who'd never even heard of it until I've actually seen it myself.

It's an interesting movie and not really a dull moment.

[Madiel]

It's an interesting movie and not really a dull moment.

It's one of a number that I've wanted to see for years (Arrival was another) that I've lined up one way or another for viewing over the summer holidays. It was partly prompted by seeing a list of the decade's best movies somewhere.

I certainly remember that critical acclaim for Whiplash was very widespread.