paul carruthers Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I can see why The Blackbird is considered one of the lesser known Chaney/Tod Browning collaborations. Not a bad movie, but you get the feeling it could have been better--I feel the same way about the 1925 film "The Monster." With a title like The Monster and starring Lon Chaney Sr., I was expecting something a bit more macabre. Of course, the Chaney/Browning film I would really like to see is London After Midnight, but that may be a dream that will never come to pass.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebk Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 The new Macbeth trailer is here! YESSS!!! Macbeth: Michael Fassbender plays the tortured king of Shakespeare's great tragedy – trailer Snowtown director Justin Kurzel's adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragic play stars Michael Fassbender as Macbeth, the warrior turned traitor who murders his king and spirals into madness. The film, which had its premiere at last month's Cannes film festival and is released in the UK on 2 October, also stars Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, tortured by insatiable ambition http://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2015/jun/04/macbeth-michael-fassbender-shakespeare-tragedy-trailer Looks great! Interesting to note that it looks as if they're showing Macbeth murdering Duncan. Shakespeare carefully leaves that out in his play as it affects an audience's position towards a character. We need Macbeth to carry the play through longer, and he can't lose the audience too early. Macbeth, after all, is a complex man. He is loved by his men and his king, and he is valiant, but he gives in to his temptations. So not seeing the murder positions us differently towards the character than, say, in Julius Caesar, where we see Brutus slaughtering Caesar, and however just we think his intentions, watching that distances us from Brutus. I wonder, then, how they're going to keep Macbeth from losing an audience's sympathy? After all, who can't relate to the desire of something one shouldn't want but because of the lure of improbability, wants it all the more? Perhaps it was just too tempting a cinematic gem of a scene for the director to exclude? Look at Fassbender's face when he says, "O full of scorpions is my mind." Can't. Wait... rraaaaarrrgh!!! Thanks for this! I may actually haul my ass to a theatre to see it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 If you do not see "Love and Mercy" you are missing out on one of best movies of the year...and definitely one of the best bio-pic on a musician that's come down the pike in a long time. The above photos are Brian Wilson, Melinda Wilson, some Access Hollywood dude, and Paul Dano at the post-"Love and Mercy" Q & A at the Cinerama Dome last week. Not seen in the photos are the movie's director and producer...my camera lens wasn't wide enough. "Love and Mercy" was fantastic! Much better than biopics usually tend to be, especially music-related ones. 10 out of 10 stars! Can't say enough about the creative approach by the script, great acting, direction and cinematography and set design were all top-notch. The music of course was terrific, as the filmmakers took care of the most important item when doing a music biopic...get the rights to use the original songs!!! The use of Paul Dano and John Cusack to portray Brian Wilson at different periods of his life worked extremely well. Both were exceptional...and it's the best role John Cusack has had in some time. No, Cusack doesn't look like Brian Wilson but his performance is pitched just right emotionally and psychologically. Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti were equally perfect in their roles as Melinda and the creep Dr. Eugene Landy respectively. Great job all around by the entire cast. For instance, the guy who played Mike Love was extremely convincing and they didn't go the easy way out and turn Mike Love into a cheap bad guy. Nice shout-out to the Wrecking Crew by the film with splendid scenes of Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye and the Crew recording "Pet Sounds". I went into this film with equal amounts of hope and trepidation, but in retrospect I guess I shouldn't have been surprised how good and imaginative the film was...the screenplay was written by the same guy who did the fantastic Dylan biopic "I'm Not There". What also stood out for me was the masterful sound design of the film. It really felt at times as if you were inside Brian Wilson's head. Simply incredible and impeccable sound mixing. Not since Stanley Kubrick have I been impressed by the overall sound design of a film. If it doesn't win an Oscar for this alone, it's a sure sign the Academy is deaf. I am definitely seeing it again this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planted Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Had a date with my parents Tuesday night and saw "Love and Mercy".. GO.SEE.THIS.MOVIE. and stay throught the credits, you're welcome. Big fan of John Cusack, he was outstanding! Paul Dano was simply amazing. He's a lot of fun to watch. This story has something for everyone..the music piece of it is exciting and reminiscent and will make you smile. The other piece about how he almost lost everything to one greedy sumbeech will only make you realize how the love of this person (who had nothing to gain, btw) literally saved his life. The cookout scene made me cry and the housekeeper made me cheer!! I will definitely see it again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebk Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) I endorse everything that Strider and planted say about Love and Mercy. Went to see it this afternoon - fabulous film. And planted, you're right about the end credits. I knew someone who used to do credits back in the day, so I always stay. These are pretty damn good. Go see this!! Edited June 14, 2015 by ebk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 (edited) ^^^ Historical malarkey. But with Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland, it's still entertaining. The Minions are coming... Edited June 19, 2015 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddladner Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Thanks to the great reviews by Strider, planted and ebk, I saw Love and Mercy tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it! A fascinating look into the genius of Brian Wilson, who, I imagine like many great songwriters, has the intricacies of the music constantly in his head. There is also a scary-as-heck story about the hell he was living in under the control of the so-called doctor. The music was terrific, and the love story inspiring. It left me wanting to know so much more! Glad to know that he is on a good track and still performing. Happy birthday and many happy thoughts for Brian! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 ^^^Whew, what a relief, Dd. If you had hated it I would feel obligated to refund your money back, hehe. I have good news...Brian Wilson's autobiography "I Am Brian Wilson" is due to be published October 8 and should be just as interesting a read as the recent memoirs of Neil Young, Pete Townshend, and Keith Richards. Avoid like the plague "Wouldn't It Be Nice", the 1991 fraud perpetrated by Dr. Landy and some People Magazine hack. Curious why so far it's only been the women here that have seen and posted about "Love and Mercy". Come on guys, you are missing out on a great movie if you pass this up. Get your head out of the CGI gutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddladner Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 ^^^ Great news on the autobiography, I would love to read more to fill in some of the missing pieces! We were two of the 13 folks who were there to see Love and Mercy last night, which was very disappointing. We walked out of the theater with father-son friends of ours who said they had just watched Jurassic World which was packed. I do hope that Love and Mercy stays in the theater long enough to get a proper audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddladner Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 We just watched 'The Railway Man' with Colin Firth as a POW of the Japs and he suffers a lot of the same as Zamperini. It has a surprise ending too. Thanks for mentioning The Railway Man, redrum. Finally got a chance to watch that today, and I'm so glad I did. It is one of those movies that is too hard to watch and too important not to. I am in such awe of men like Eric Lomax! Do they make men like him any more? I sure hope so. Sometimes the hating has to stop. ❤️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Last night we went to see this, for its 40th anniversary showing in the theatres: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Last night we went to see this, for its 40th anniversary showing in the theatres: Good call, Chuck! "Jaws" is one of those movies that's even better in a theatre with a crowd. I still remember the first time I saw "Jaws" in 1975...what a rush! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Yeah, it was fun. Good size crowd too! Walter Jr had already seen it on tv, but the theatre is much better obviously.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks for mentioning The Railway Man, redrum. Finally got a chance to watch that today, and I'm so glad I did. It is one of those movies that is too hard to watch and too important not to. I am in such awe of men like Eric Lomax! Do they make men like him any more? I sure hope so. Sometimes the hating has to stop. ❤️ Yes, it's amazing he could forgive him after all that. A similar story is 'Unbroken.' Those two guys were a different breed for sure. We just watched 'Smoke Signals' with Adam Beach and 'Sweet Charity' with Shirley MacLaine. Good movie but some schlocky 60's stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles J. White Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Ant Man will be out soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ady Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Good call, Chuck! "Jaws" is one of those movies that's even better in a theatre with a crowd. I still remember the first time I saw "Jaws" in 1975...what a rush! Hi, Strider. The first time I saw 'Jaws' was its UK TV premiere in 1981 when I was 10. They let us home early from cubs to watch it. The next day at school my teacher asked, "Everybody who watched 'Jaws' last night, put your hand up." Out of a class of about 25 - 30 kids, just one person didn't raise their hand. The TV audience was 23.3 million out of a population at the time of 56.3 million. Amazing times before most people owned a VCR and we only had three channels back then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 ^^ I remember seeing Jaws with friends when it came out; scared the daylights out of me. It's still the scariest movie I've ever seen! (Shark week starts tonight too!) Also, I read recently that they are making Top Gun 2. I am not a Tom Cruise fan, but I did really enjoy Top Gun back in the day; it was really quite spectacular on the big screen. It's on Netflix now, so I watched it again, and surprisingly I enjoyed it just as much (although it wasn't nearly the same on the laptop ). 80s movies were kind of cheesy but they did have heart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I see where 'they' are going to do a remake of 'The Birds.' God help us. We just watched 'Kingsman: The Secret Service.' God help us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TypeO Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 We just watched 'Kingsman: The Secret Service.' God help us. Loved it! LOL Once I realized it was based on a comic book, I was more at ease with the very loose grip on realism and the over-the-top violence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Loved it! LOL Once I realized it was based on a comic book, I was more at ease with the very loose grip on realism and the over-the-top violence. Just not my cup of tea. I thought that since Colin Firth was in it............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddladner Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Magic Mike. Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepscoda Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Just got back from taking my youngest to Minions. It is what it is...if you've got through the first 2 Despicable Me's without much trama, this one is as good...kids loved it of course. 2 things that rubbed me the wrong way, w/o spoiling anything : 1: there is one song (guitar solo) out of place for the time period. 2: there was a quick reference to a conspiracy theory that I found out of place. .... I better get some sleep....lol...I'm analyzing the Minions movie....lol...WTF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepscoda Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Last night we went to see this, for its 40th anniversary showing in the theatres: I was busy the Wednesday this was shown and couldn't go. I really wanted to see it in the theatre again. My parents took me and my younger brother and sister when it was re released , 1978 I think...if so, I was 9...What an incredible experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Just got back from taking my youngest to Minions. It is what it is...if you've got through the first 2 Despicable Me's without much trama, this one is as good...kids loved it of course. 2 things that rubbed me the wrong way, w/o spoiling anything : 1: there is one song (guitar solo) out of place for the time period. 2: there was a quick reference to a conspiracy theory that I found out of place. .... I better get some sleep....lol...I'm analyzing the Minions movie....lol...WTF I'm taking my nephew and sister-in-law to "Minions" later today. Hmmm...conspiracy theory references? You had my interest...now you have my attention. Edited July 12, 2015 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Loved this movie. Il Capitale Umano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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