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I've Been Going to the...MOOOOvies


bigstickbonzo

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Saturday night, I saw one I had never seen before. Joe Dante has been curating a series of little-seen movies at the American Cinematheque and this night he chose to screen "Hail! Mafia", a French-Italian co-production from 1965. Jack Klugman and Henry Silva are a pair of bickering bantering hitmen (foreshadowing John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction") sent to silence Eddie Constantine. From New York to Paris to Marseilles, the movie zips along in an economical 90 minutes. In glorious black-and-white cinematography (there is a shot in Manhattan that would do Jules Schulman proud) and a suitably cool jazz score by Hubert Rostaing.

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To wrap up the week, last night I went to a special Veterans Day screening of "The Right Stuff" at the Hollywood American Legion Post #43. If you haven't seen this, I don't know what to tell you other than what are you waiting for? It should be mandatory viewing for every American.

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Finally got around to Jordan Peele's "US". It's apparently some kind of giant metaphor about privileged people being ignorant towards the less fortunate in society. It's well directed but poorly written in my honest opinion and I think every single one of the rave reviews focus solely on the "genius" of all the metaphors, hints, nods, and winks about culture instead of looking at the film from a basic perspective. It's shitty as a horror film and the metaphorical allusions to the faults of modern society aren't deep enough to really say anything significant or make people think. If this film deserves good ratings then every single one of M. Knight Shamallama's films deserve them to. It even has a cheap thrill twist at the end.

Edit: If you want a good taste of cultural reflection, HBO's Watchmen series is much better.

Edited by gibsonfan159
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14 hours ago, gibsonfan159 said:

Finally got around to Jordan Peele's "US". It's apparently some kind of giant metaphor about privileged people being ignorant towards the less fortunate in society. It's well directed but poorly written in my honest opinion and I think every single one of the rave reviews focus solely on the "genius" of all the metaphors, hints, nods, and winks about culture instead of looking at the film from a basic perspective. It's shitty as a horror film and the metaphorical allusions to the faults of modern society aren't deep enough to really say anything significant or make people think. If this film deserves good ratings then every single one of M. Knight Shamallama's films deserve them to. It even has a cheap thrill twist at the end.

Edit: If you want a good taste of cultural reflection, HBO's Watchmen series is much better.

I haven't seen "Us" nor Jordan Peele's last one, "Get Out". Most modern horror movies bore me so neither of them really appealed to me and I'm kind of over the Jordan Peele hype anyway.

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12 minutes ago, Strider said:

I haven't seen "Us" nor Jordan Peele's last one, "Get Out". Most modern horror movies bore me so neither of them really appealed to me and I'm kind of over the Jordan Peele hype anyway.

Get Out is actually worth watching. It's less "horror" and more psychological mindfuck. Unlike "Us", the concept is pretty captivating. But I agree too many people are putting Peele on a hype pedestal and are gonna call anything he does "genius".

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The Irishman- Scorsese's adaptation of a mob member's confession on what happened to Jimmy Hoffa. It's a Scorsese film so you know what you're getting if you've ever seen his previous 75 Italian mob centered films. My God is it long and slow. Like the Green Mile played at half speed. But, it's pretty good if you have time (and patience) to sit through it and pay attention. An all-in cast brings DeNiro, Keitel, Pacino, Pesci, and any other stereotyped actor together for this final big bang, and they all did a surprisingly impressive job though I'd say Pacino steals the show as Jimmy Hoffa. Even though the film itself is tastefully done and well directed, I think if it wasn't for the story being centered around the "disappearance" of Hoffa, it would just be another run of the mill Scorsese script with the already overdone mob hits and illegal activity within organized Italo crime. Unfortunately, DeNiro's character is so unwittingly shallow that it seems off somehow that he's the center of the film.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/25/2019 at 2:45 PM, Stryder1978 said:

...don't bother watching the racist "Get Out" flick.   It's basically just a SJW version of "The Stepford Wives" anyway. 

I don't understand where you get this is somehow racist as I saw nothing of the sort. What I did find is a mediocre movie with several serious plot holes and outright stupid story which made no real sense.

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On 11/30/2019 at 1:38 AM, gibsonfan159 said:

The Irishman- Scorsese's adaptation of a mob member's confession on what happened to Jimmy Hoffa. It's a Scorsese film so you know what you're getting if you've ever seen his previous 75 Italian mob centered films. My God is it long and slow. Like the Green Mile played at half speed. But, it's pretty good if you have time (and patience) to sit through it and pay attention. An all-in cast brings DeNiro, Keitel, Pacino, Pesci, and any other stereotyped actor together for this final big bang, and they all did a surprisingly impressive job though I'd say Pacino steals the show as Jimmy Hoffa. Even though the film itself is tastefully done and well directed, I think if it wasn't for the story being centered around the "disappearance" of Hoffa, it would just be another run of the mill Scorsese script with the already overdone mob hits and illegal activity within organized Italo crime. Unfortunately, DeNiro's character is so unwittingly shallow that it seems off somehow that he's the center of the film.

The Irishman is likely the most overrated film of 2019 and possibly Marty S laziest outing as a director. With the exception of Keitel and Pesci (who gave a fantastic performance), DeNiro & Pacino were seriously miscast in their roles. DeNiro looked like an idiot with the digital manipulation of his age as he is still a 76 year old man who walks and acts like a 76 year old man. As you mentioned, his character was incredibly under-developed with zero insight into his motivations or who he really was...DeNiro was a ghost. Talk about phoning it in. Pacino did a better job but again, he looked like a fool as he is way, way too old for the part and he projected none of Hoffa's menace.

Except for Pesci the move was a complete waste of time. Kinda felt like getting four aging actors together for one last run around the track, and a very slow run at that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just saw "The Gentlemen".  I'm not a big Guy Ritchie fan, be he absolutely nailed this one!  Great story that keeps you guessing, incredible cast and hilarious crime drama and dialogue.  Blows that over-hyped bring mess called "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" out of the water.  Best film I've seen in years.  Of course I expected greatness from Matthew, but Charlie Hunnam and Colin Farrell deliver as well.  And the biggest surprise was Hugh Grant.  Highly recommended. 

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1 hour ago, Stryder1978 said:

Just saw "The Gentlemen".  I'm not a big Guy Ritchie fan, be he absolutely nailed this one!  Great story that keeps you guessing, incredible cast and hilarious crime drama and dialogue.  Blows that over-hyped bring mess called "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" out of the water.  Best film I've seen in years.  Of course I expected greatness from Matthew, but Charlie Hunnam and Colin Farrell deliver as well.  And the biggest surprise was Hugh Grant.  Highly recommended. 

Guy Ritchie has fallen off a cliff ever since he got involved with Madonna. I liked "Snatch" best of his movies. Is the new one as good as that?

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AMERICA
 
Puerto Rico, You lovely island,
Island of tropical breezes.
Always the pineapples growing,
Always the coffee blossom blowing.
Puerto Rico, You ugly island,
Island of tropic diseases.
Always the hurricanes blowing,
Always the population growing,
And the money owing,
And the babies crying,
And the bullets flying.
I like the island Manhattan.
Smoke on your pipe and put that in!
Girls sans Rosalia:
I like to be in America!
O.K. by me in America!
Everything free in America
For a small fee in America!
I like the city of San Juan.
I know a boat you can get on.
Hundreds of flowers in full bloom.
Hundreds of people in each room!
Girls sans Rosalia:
Automobile in America.
Chromium steel in America.
Wirespoke wheel in American,
Very big deal in America!
I'll drive a Buick through San Juan
If there's a road you can drive on.
I'll give my cousins a free ride.
How you get all of them inside?
Immigrants goes to America.
Many hellos in America.
Nobody knows in American,
Puerto Rico's in America!
I'll bring a T.V. to San Juan.
If there's a current to turn on!
I'll give them new washing machine.
What have they got there to keep clean?
I like the shores of America.
Comfort is yours in America.
Knobs on doors in American,
Wall-to-wall floors in America!
When I will go back to San Juan.
When you will shut up and get gone!
Everyone there will give big cheer!
Everyone there will have moved here
 
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RUSHBTLS.jpg.2601f0eaaee5935a71c133d57e18432a.jpg

i was astounded at how they had footage of a teenage Alex Lifeson telling his family he wanted to quit high school to concentrate on his music. Who thinks to film a personal moment that at that age? Even to have a film camera around the house was rare at that time for non-film professionals. Amazing.

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3 hours ago, Strider said:

RUSHBTLS.jpg.2601f0eaaee5935a71c133d57e18432a.jpg

i was astounded at how they had footage of a teenage Alex Lifeson telling his family he wanted to quit high school to concentrate on his music. Who thinks to film a personal moment that at that age? Even to have a film camera around the house was rare at that time for non-film professionals. Amazing.

I watched that show the morning I read that we lost Neil.  GREAT documentary and amazing they had so much quality footage from the early years.  If only that had happened with Zep....

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1 hour ago, Stryder1978 said:

I watched that show the morning I read that we lost Neil.  GREAT documentary and amazing they had so much quality footage from the early years.  If only that had happened with Zep....

Ya know, one of the reasons may be Zep grew so much and so quickly that, unlike Rush, by the time they got around to documenting and filming, it had to be some major production. Zep should have had a roadie filming with a handheld every few shows both for posterity and to help them see visually how their live presentation worked. Unfortunately, Grant & Page were so paranoid about stuff getting out unofficially, they locked this ship down so tight, we have little compared to Rush and other bands as a result.

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On 1/23/2020 at 7:13 AM, PeaceFrogYum said:

 Unfortunately, Grant & Page were so paranoid about stuff getting out unofficially, they locked this ship down so tight, we have little compared to Rush and other bands as a result.

Most likely due to Peter Grant.

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