Last Movie You Watched

[Karl Henning]

Well, we're back to a comedy last night which we both love - film executives tried to get Vardalos to change the family ethnicity to Hispanic or Italian (see link for more):

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) w/ Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, and others; one Oscar nomination 'Best Original Screenplay' for Vardalos, who did not win.  Dave

 

Great fun!

[Iota]

This really is an exceedingly good, enjoyable and almost deliriously pretty film.
Sparkling wit, both spoken and visual, Miranda Hart and Bill Nighy shine in particular, but are by no means alone. The interplay of music and drama is scintillating, the film opens to the sound of a charming little operatic duet penned by film composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, as Emma selects flowers for a departing governess, it's perfectly suited to the moment, and for the next few minutes it feels as if at any moment the characters might break into song. And many similar moments follow, music seems to run in the blood of the film.
The casting is perfect, as is the acting, and there's an exquisite quality redolent of candied bonbons from Fortnum & Mason to it that's irresistible. A great accomplishment, even more striking for being the feature film debut for director Autumn de Wilde. Much enjoyed.

[SimonNZ]

Hadn't seen this since it first came out. Its a wee gem of a film, and the two leads simply brilliant.

[geralmar]

1958

Psycho threatens to blow up rocket fuel plant.  Low budget, black and white thriller with villain Vic Morrow reminding as a vest pocket Marlon Brando.  Night time cinematography emphasizes noir look.  Nice touch is the ominous, ever present four lights atop four towers blinking slowly in the background of outdoor scenes.  A weak recommendation; but I like the movie.

[VonStupp]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Nothing will replace the classics status of the 1984 original, but I was surprisingly charmed by this one.

I think it helped Jason Reitman went on a completely different tach than an out and out comedy, instead going towards a Stranger Things family dramedy. Also, this sequel pretends Ghostbusters (2016) doesn't exist.

A nice tribute to Harold Ramis too.

VS

[Karl Henning]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Nothing will replace the classics status of the 1984 original, but I was surprisingly charmed by this one.

I think it helped Jason Reitman went on a completely different tach than an out and out comedy, instead going towards a Stranger Things family dramedy. Also, this sequel pretends Ghostbusters (2016) doesn't exist.

A nice tribute to Harold Ramis too.

VS

Interesting.

[George]

This was OK.

[geralmar]

2020, Brazil

Any qualities of this mild, illogical horror movie are obscured by the horrendous English dubbing, the worst I've heard since the Toho giant monster movies of the 1950s.  I also question the translations.  Would anyone seriously ask a.nun in full habit, "Do you believe in God?"

[aligreto]

Extraction:





This one is a very hard hitting thriller which involves the rescue of a kidnapped boy. There is quite a lot of violent killing in this one. It was not made as food for the cerebral part of the brain. Enjoyment seems like the incorrect word to use here but I did not switch it off. I suppose that I was invested in it somehow.

[Todd]

Prey, aka, Predator vs. Comanche.  You know who's gonna win this one, come on.  Much like The Force Awakens was a rehashing of Star Wars, so this is a rehashing of Predator.  The current flick very much possesses a politically correct/woke vibe, with not only native peoples the new good guys, but a teenage girl the main hero.  It doesn't matter.  One must drop all pretense of seriousness when watching a movie like this, and if one does that, one is treated to some glorious landscape imagery of Canada in the location shots for this 18th Century world, well-choreographed fights, some sometimes excellent and sometimes awful CGI (the bear scenes are especially bad), and some nasty French dudes as add-on villains/victims, which just feels right.  The use of only native actors to play the tribe is obviously a huge plus, so much so that I wish the movie had relied on the Comanche language rather than English.  Amber Midthunder is fine as the hero, and Dakota Beavers displays no little charisma as her brother, and the one line borrowed directly from the first movie is his: If it bleeds, we can kill it.  A good enough popcorn flick. 

(I find it impossible to believe that the film's title was not influenced by the 2006 video game of the same name that also used Native Americans as the heroes.  It's all good.)

[SonicMan46]

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) - streamed last night on HBOMax - short synopsis below, also quote from a few days ago at bottom, when we watched the original BFGW from 2002, so 14 years later w/ a daughter about to go to college - never seen before mainly because the reviews were at best mixed w/ some poor ones (e.g. 27% Rotten Tomatoes; a little better 6/10, iMDB; Amazon, 4.7/5 as expected!).

Added the pic below in the previous quote - the family pic was actually from the second film - Nia Vardalos wrote the script to the sequel - there are many funny moments intermixed w/ some 'slapstick comedy' - I'd probably do 3 1/2*/5* on Amazon - a recommendation only if you LOVED the first one - all of the original characters return (some look similar and others have aged) - note from the quote immediately below that a 3rd film is currently in development, maybe 'enough is enough' unless Vardalos (possibly w/ a co-writer) comes up w/ something fresher?  Dave

ADDENDUM: More on a possible 3rd film HERE - Michael Constantine (the father & 'Windex Man') died a year ago and will be sorely missed if a third film is produced.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is a 2016 American romantic comedy film directed by Kirk Jones and written by Nia Vardalos. The film stars Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, Andrea Martin, Ian Gomez and Elena Kampouris, and is the sequel to the 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Filming began in late May 2015 in Toronto. The film was released on March 25, 2016, by Universal Pictures, receiving negative reviews from critics. The film grossed $90.6 million worldwide against a $18 million budget. A third film is currently in development. (Source)

Well, we're back to a comedy last night which we both love - film executives tried to get Vardalos to change the family ethnicity to Hispanic or Italian (see link for more):

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) w/ Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, and others; one Oscar nomination 'Best Original Screenplay' for Vardalos, who did not win.  Dave

   

[VonStupp]

The King's Man (2021)
Ralph Fiennes

A really fun fight/dance scene between Rasputin (Rhys Ifans) and Ralph Fiennes' character. Well choreographed! A lot of pseudo WWI history.

Good to see Charles Dance again too.

VS

[JBS]

Prey, aka, Predator vs. Comanche.  You know who's gonna win this one, come on.  Much like The Force Awakens was a rehashing of Star Wars, so this is a rehashing of Predator.  The current flick very much possesses a politically correct/woke vibe, with not only native peoples the new good guys, but a teenage girl the main hero.  It doesn't matter.  One must drop all pretense of seriousness when watching a movie like this, and if one does that, one is treated to some glorious landscape imagery of Canada in the location shots for this 18th Century world, well-choreographed fights, some sometimes excellent and sometimes awful CGI (the bear scenes are especially bad), and some nasty French dudes as add-on villains/victims, which just feels right.  The use of only native actors to play the tribe is obviously a huge plus, so much so that I wish the movie had relied on the Comanche language rather than English.  Amber Midthunder is fine as the hero, and Dakota Beavers displays no little charisma as her brother, and the one line borrowed directly from the first movie is his: If it bleeds, we can kill it.  A good enough popcorn flick. 

(I find it impossible to believe that the film's title was not influenced by the 2006 video game of the same name that also used Native Americans as the heroes.  It's all good.)

It is apparently possible to watch this on Hulu in a version that's either dubbed on subtitled in Comanche.

[Todd]

It is apparently possible to watch this on Hulu in a version that's either dubbed on subtitled in Comanche.

Comanche subtitles would not help since I do not read Comanche.  And I do not watch dubbed shows or movies since they are, without exception, awful.  Were this not a Predator movie, it really should have been in Comanche with the viewer's choice of subtitles.  If ever a serious movie is made with an all-native cast, that is what should be done.  Why does it take someone like Mel Gibson to get it right?

[milk]

Wings of Hope
An awesome move. Literally. Doc by Werner Herzog.
The story of Juliane Koepcke who "as a teenager in 1971...survived the LANSA Flight 508 plane crash, after a fall of 3,000 m (9,843 ft), still strapped to her seat...then survived 11 days alone in the Amazon rainforest." - Wikipedia says.


Watch it on YouTube at the moment for free:
https://youtu.be/msipyM4vyLg

[Iota]

Hadn't seen this since it first came out. Its a wee gem of a film, and the two leads simply brilliant.

+1

[drogulus]

     Last night I watched Brighton Rock, the original with Richard Attenborough as Pinkie. The outstanding performances were by William Hartnell as Dallow, Carol Marsh as Rose and Hermione Baddeley as Ida.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Hadn't seen this since it first came out. Its a wee gem of a film, and the two leads simply brilliant.

+2

Haven't seen it in years, but I remember being quite impressed with it. 

PD

[SonicMan46]

Into the Woods (2014) - the movie described below w/ the film cast featuring Meryl Streep as the witch - watched on the Disney channel last night - in the late '80s we saw the play on Broadway w/ our son - starring Bernadette Peters; then bought the original show (first pic below) - and had not seen the Disney film version until last night and really enjoyed - not sure which version I now prefer?  Peters and Streep are tied in that role IMHO - Susan is a BIG Stephen Sondheim fan so she'll take any version -    Dave

Into the Woods is an American musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall, and adapted to the screen by James Lapine from his and Stephen Sondheim's 1986 Broadway musical of the same name. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it features an ensemble cast that includes Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, MacKenzie Mauzy, Billy Magnussen, and Johnny Depp. Inspired by the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales of "Little Red Riding Hood", "Cinderella", "Jack and the Beanstalk", and "Rapunzel", the film is centered on a childless couple who set out to end a curse placed on them by a vengeful witch. Ultimately, the characters are forced to experience the unintended consequences of their actions. (Source)

 

[VonStupp]

Into the Woods (2014) - the movie described below w/ the film cast featuring Meryl Streep as the witch - watched on the Disney channel last night - in the late '80s we saw the play on Broadway w/ our son - starring Bernadette Peters; then bought the original show (first pic below) - and had not seen the Disney film version until last night and really enjoyed - not sure which version I now prefer?  Peters and Streep are tied in that role IMHO - Susan is a BIG Stephen Sondheim fan so she'll take any version -    Dave

 

Fun Dave! I do like that Bernadette Peters stage 'film' and it might be my preference.

As an aside, I was involved in a local production of Into the Woods recently, and Sondheim's music is quite tricky to pull off.

VS