Last Movie You Watched

[Karl Henning]

I couldn't help but notice the parallels with James Levine...

Topical, and probably a good-ish kind of uncomfortable.

[Bachtoven]

I think the ambiguity of some of the scenes late in the movie elevate it.  The movie is completely focused on Tar's perception and then the line becomes so blurred that it is difficult to tell if a scene actually happened or if it was in her head.

I agree that the movie is too long, but it is hard to know what to cut.  Even when a scene doesn't directly tie in with the character arc, it usually provides world building.  Especially important for film goers that no nothing about this type of world.

I couldn't help but notice the parallels with James Levine... 

One of the characters even mentions him.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I only recently saw any of these thinking they were way too excessive in a Michael Bay way (macho guys walking away from gargantuan and implausible expositions in slow motion type of thing).  So during the Depp/Amber Heard trial it piqued my interest so finally saw the first one and to my surprise, absolutely loved it!  Depp owned that character...or maybe I've become dumber.  I haven't seen any after the first one.

The first one was definitely my favorite.  Lots of fun, adventure and general wittiness. 

And yes, Depp is very creative and talented particularly in his creation of characters.  You might find this interesting--and amusing.  I've seen various interviews with him before regarding his creation of the Jack Sparrow character and Disney's (and the scriptwriters') reactions to it in the beginning.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7OsCQllWhU

PD

[Madiel]

Last night, I watched "The Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Men Tell No Tales".  I had thought that it was the next one in the series that I hadn't seen, but am wondering if I missed viewing No. 4 as (and without spoiling it for others--hopefully), I didn't recall seeing how Orlando Bloom's character managed to get stuck in the predicament that he was in at the beginning of Dead Men?

In any event, I enjoyed it overall.

PD

Well you were watching number 5. Number 4 is On Stranger Tides.

[relm1]

OMG this was such a moving film.  It wasn't perfect but was very strong. 

The film is told through an endearing protagonist, Paul.  He is so good in this role fully embracing the cult of war then slowly realizing how futile it is.  Something I think could have been better is that he never lost his humanity.  In truth, soldiers lose that compassion.  For example, please see this German WWI soldier's description of killing a French soldier in close quarters. 

  It's important to hear just how impassioned a soldier is when they take away another life.  This is real.  "All Quiet on the Wester Front" is not.  It is art.  Powerful and moving as it is, I think if Paul transitioned to the reality of what these soldiers would become would make it more impactful.  Regardless, it was a very moving film.  Awful.  We've learned nothing.

[DavidW]

Well you were watching number 5. Number 4 is On Stranger Tides.

Fun fact: On Stranger Tides is the actual novel by Tim Powers that inspired the entire franchise (everyone seems to think it was just based on a ride).

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Well you were watching number 5. Number 4 is On Stranger Tides.

Thanks.  I may have to go back(?) and watch (or rewatch?) No. 4. 

Fun fact: On Stranger Tides is the actual novel by Tim Powers that inspired the entire franchise (everyone seems to think it was just based on a ride).

Interesting!

PD

[Irons]

OMG this was such a moving film.  It wasn't perfect but was very strong. 

The film is told through an endearing protagonist, Paul.  He is so good in this role fully embracing the cult of war then slowly realizing how futile it is.  Something I think could have been better is that he never lost his humanity.  In truth, soldiers lose that compassion.  For example, please see this German WWI soldier's description of killing a French soldier in close quarters. 

  It's important to hear just how impassioned a soldier is when they take away another life.  This is real.  "All Quiet on the Wester Front" is not.  It is art.  Powerful and moving as it is, I think if Paul transitioned to the reality of what these soldiers would become would make it more impactful.  Regardless, it was a very moving film.  Awful.  We've learned nothing.

Great film. Two scenes stood out for me, no, make that three. When Paul asking his dying friend  at the field hospital if he wanted anything and his friend requested cutlery, although unknown to Paul, not to eat food. When new recruits issued with uniform noticed not their tags but another name (dead) sewn in. Finally, entry of tanks into battle for the first time.

[Karl Henning]

I'd forgotten just how good In the Heat of the Night is.

[Irons]

I'd forgotten just how good In the Heat of the Night is.

In his pomp I had an obsession Rod Steiger, waited eagerly for each new film. Such presence and charisma.

[relm1]

I'd forgotten just how good In the Heat of the Night is.

It was very good - I only saw it for the first time maybe a week ago and riveting performances and direction.  I looked up the director and saw a string of massive, iconic films, so not surprised it was so good. The silent inner power of Pottier was potent.  I wish I had 10% of what he can convey with a stare, not by brawn but strength of mind and purpose.

[relm1]

Great film. Two scenes stood out for me, no, make that three. When Paul asking his dying friend  at the field hospital if he wanted anything and his friend requested cutlery, although unknown to Paul, not to eat food. When new recruits issued with uniform noticed not their tags but another name (dead) sewn in. Finally, entry of tanks into battle for the first time.

Yes, it captured imminent dread very well.  I think this was the first war to use tanks so you can imagine how unimaginably terrifying the sight and sound of those must have been.  I also loved the visual transformation of Paul.  At the start he looked so innocent and maybe 15 years old.  By the end, so weary and looking like 35 years old having endured so much misery.  The gradual decline was conveyed extremely well.  I also liked the extremely minimal music.  Sort of an evolution of Saving Private Ryan, itself scored very uniquely choosing to have no score during battles and only add a very light touch to the retrospective moments, never getting in the way of the already fine script, acting,  and directing.

[Karl Henning]

In his pomp I had an obsession Rod Steiger, waited eagerly for each new film. Such presence and charisma.

What a hoot in The Loved One!

[SonicMan46]

Last night a 4K UHD upgrade Amazon streamer:

A League of Their Own (1992) w/ the cast ensemble below - about the early days (during WWII) of the AAGPBL (see second quote from the Baseball Hall of Fame and a real picture of the lady players).  Although much fictionalized a fun movie of what some talented gals did during the war other than putting in rivets -     Dave

A League of Their Own is an American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O'Donnell, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, and Bill Pullman. A League of Their Own was a critical and commercial success. In 2012, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". (Source)

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the United States. Over 600 women played in the league, which consisted of eventually 10 teams located in the American Midwest. In 1948, league attendance peaked at over 900,000 spectators. The most successful team, the Rockford Peaches, won a league-best four championships. The 1992 film A League of Their Own is a mostly fictionalized account of the early days of the league and its stars. (Source)

[Irons]

What a hoot in The Loved One!

Steiger could do blockbusters or art films, comedy or horror, each role so different from the last. Brilliant as Napoleon in Waterloo and tragic in The Sergeant, I think his greatest performance was The Pawnbroker.
After typing this I have a mind to revisit these great films. Been too long. 

[Karl Henning]

Anyone remember my saying that Peter Shaffer's Amadeus is a brilliant stage play, but the problem with the movie is that viewers mistake it for a documentary?

The Biggest Inaccuracy In Tár — Plus 7 Things The Film Gets Right
A professional violinist breaks down the movie's many wins.

[Madiel]

I still haven't seen Tár (it's on the to-do list, how could I as an Australian miss Cate Blanchett totally dominating a film?), but it has fascinated me how people get the impression it's about a real person. I wonder what it is about the film's style, even the style of its advertising, that keeps giving that impression.

I admit to having an initial uncertainty when I first heard about the film, so there must have been something in the presentation. Unlike some people though, I checked!

[Roasted Swan]

I still haven't seen Tár (it's on the to-do list, how could I as an Australian miss Cate Blanchett totally dominating a film?), but it has fascinated me how people get the impression it's about a real person. I wonder what it is about the film's style, even the style of its advertising, that keeps giving that impression.

I admit to having an initial uncertainty when I first heard about the film, so there must have been something in the presentation. Unlike some people though, I checked!

To be fair if DG are promoting a disc with a cover like this......



I kind of get that some folk for whom in any case CM has an aura around it anyway might be taken in.  To be fair any actor famous for a specific role will tell stories of being approached by members of the public who believe they are the person they've seen on the screen.  Of course Cate Blanchett isn't a conductor (duh!!!) she's Queen of the Elves - EVERYONE knows THAT!!!!



although folk do forget that in fact she premiered her Tar character there too.....

[Madiel]

To be fair any actor famous for a specific role will tell stories of being approached by members of the public who believe they are the person they've seen on the screen.

This is very true.

As for who Cate Blanchett is... well for me she was Lucinda first of all, and Queen Elizabeth, and the unknowing voice of doom Meredith Logue in The Talented Mr Ripley which I completely adore, and she turned out to be a better Bob Dylan than just about anybody, and she's been Richard II live on stage, and then there's the superb Manifesto where she is a hell of a lot of people and even does live crosses to herself as both newsreader and reporter.

To name a few.

[Wanderer]

...and then there's the superb Manifesto where she is a hell of a lot of people and even does live crosses to herself as both newsreader and reporter.

I think this is perhaps the most extraordinary thing she's done so far (along with Blue Jasmine and Tàr). Oh, that funeral oration!
Did you have the chance to also see Julian Rosefeldt's original concept of the work as a multiple-screen video installation? The impression one is left with is markedly different from the (eventual) film; it hits you even harder.