Patterico's Pontifications

1/2/2016

Let’s Talk Movies

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:46 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Saturday night seems like a good night to talk movies. I need some recommendations. Since I’m on vacation, I will watch more movies over the holiday season than I will the entire rest of the year when there just isn’t the luxury of time. Some of what I’ve watched has been good, and some not so good. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve watched recently.

The Wolfpack: This engrossing documentary focuses on six brothers who were not allowed to go outside while growing up on the Lower East Side, with the exception of a very small handful of times with their parents. The documentary explores how the homeschooled brothers filled their time in the apartment by watching an endless number of movies. They transcribed movie dialogue, word for word, and using handwritten scripts, homemade costumes, and detailed props, made their own versions of the films they watched. Their attention to detail is amazing. Throughout the film, the brothers are interviewed as are their parents. It is immediately obvious that their father has “issues”, yet somehow maintained an uninterrupted and unquestioned reign of power in the home. The siblings’ mother comes across as a loving and kind woman who struggles with regret over how the children were raised. Viewers are richly rewarded when one day, out of the blue, the oldest son ventures outside, thus breaking the power their father held over all of them. And it’s a sublimely sweet moment to see all of the brothers excitedly leave the apartment together to go to a real theater and watch a movie. Their innocent delight at being in a real movie theater almost brought a tear to my eye, same as it did when they dipped their toes into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief: This documentary examines the Church of Scientology and those who have bravely left the cult after years of membership. It also digs into the background of founder L. Ron Hubbard and his nuttery that is the very foundation for the “church”. It’s surreal listening to the ex-members, once so willing to turn their lives over to the control of bullies and charlatans, try to make viewers understand just how the brainwashing occurred. And it’s distressing to see the consequences when one leaves and loved ones stay behind. It gets worse, too, as those who choose to remain in the cult are required to “disconnect” completely from any spouse, parent, or child who have left. Sadly, as is typical, leave a cult and there’s a price to pay. And in this instance, the price exacted is enormous. I found the entire documentary simultaneously fascinating and disturbing.

The Big Short: This is the new movie about the financial crisis of the mid-2000s. It’s getting a lot of buzz. Suffice it to say, “When it’s time to make a movie dealing in complex material about contemporary financial instruments, is the guy who brought us “Anchorman 2” really the best available option? Consider yourselves warned.

John Wick: Loved this movie. It’s a tough and violent film that never lets the viewer rest. Under the skillful acting of Keanu Reeves, who portrays John Wick, the tender heart of his retired hitman character is revealed in the film’s opening as he mournfully prepares for his beloved wife’s funeral. When her last gift to him, a little beagle puppy is killed by some very bad Russians, Wick comes out of retirement with a vengeance to take care of business. And he delivers payback in a very satisfactory manner. This movie is about a year old, but is well worth watching.

Also on the definite thumbs-up side: Slow West and Sicario.

That’s what I’ve been watching. What have you watched lately, and what do you recommend??

–Dana

66 Responses to “Let’s Talk Movies”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (86e864)

  2. Just watched “Ex Machina” streamed on Amazon… very enjoyable movie!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  3. Oh, yes, I saw that a while back, Colonel. It bugged me because it didn’t make sense, if the scientist wanted to see how people would respond to his “creation”, wouldn’t he have selected a random person rather than one specifically selected because of their very detailed responses to an application?? Wouldn’t an objective test subject be the random one? But I loved the architecture of the house!

    Dana (86e864)

  4. I like Hot Fuzz and The World’s End for Action/Comedy, and Noises Off for straight-up farce. Everything else I’d recommend is already so popular you’ve probably already considered it.

    CayleyGraph (353727)

  5. I liked Hot Fuzz, I found World’s End, rather cloyingly lacrymose, until the aliens arrive,

    narciso (732bc0)

  6. He wasn’t selected because of “detailed responses”, as I understood it, Dana, but selected because he had eyes on him, he stood apart from the others he worked with, a special case. I also enjoyed John Wick.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  7. And “Slow West” lived up to its title, lol.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  8. Grapes of Wrath was just on. What a classic.

    mg (31009b)

  9. I’ve heard of like none of these, I am so not with it.

    Two things that I found fascinating in the past that I have mentioned before:
    One is “The War at Home”, the documentary about the anti -war movement around 1970, especially at UW Madison, how there were hard core anarchists using the useful idiots, especially knowing that even today there are people who blame the bombing on the university administration for not giving in to protesters demands.
    The other one I don’t know the name of, but a documentary about an incident in Mich where cattle were poisoned through contaminated feed (I think by dioxane fungicides) and the attempted cover up thwarted by an armed standoff between local farmers and the state police who were told to arrest the local vet trying to get to the bottom of it.
    Something that shouldn’t happen in the U.S., like the witch hunt by the Milwaukee DA harassing conservatives.

    MD in Philly (not in Philly) (deca84)

  10. Only one of those movies that I’ve seen is John Wick. It felt too by the numbers for me and I didn’t find his skills to be particularly enjoyable.

    Ex Machina was a good movie and the actress playing the android was fantastic.

    Why no reviews on the top movie at the box office? Add Star Wars to the title and I’m sure this post will explode exponentially.

    NJRob (a07d2e)

  11. The Ridiculous 6, on Netflix, with Adam Sandler, and a bunch of retreads — Nick Nolte, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Vanilla Ice, Machete, and the liar guy from SNL among them. Blazing Saddles if made by high school students. Ridiculous plot, bathroom humor; scenes varying from simple-minded to gory to disgusting as the movie went along. I enjoyed it very much.

    nk (dbc370)

  12. Ex Machina is an instant sci-fi classic.
    Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation for pure action
    Lambert & Stamp and Amy for music documentary fans
    Ant-Man for comic book action with a smart dash of humor
    Spy for the laffs

    Craig Mc (bcb1c9)

  13. I found World’s End, rather cloyingly lacrymose, until the aliens arrive,

    Yeah, when I first saw the movie in a theater, I hadn’t seen any of the previews/reviews, so I was a bit worried that it was a serious movie.
    I’d like to try watching it with somebody who likes alien/zombie comedies, but who somehow hasn’t heard of The World’s End, and furthermore doesn’t know it’s that type of movie. I’m not sure how I’d convince them to watch it – “It’s about a guy meeting old friends to help with a midlife crisis”? – but just imagine their reaction when they see the turning point…

    CayleyGraph (353727)

  14. Yes going clear is a must see.
    Even today with all of our technology and knowledge people buy into this and believe things without evidence. Imagine how much easier it was to dupe people 2000 years ago into believing similar things.

    Gil (febf10)

  15. They killed a puppy?

    Dave (in MA) (b4894f)

  16. NJ Rob,

    I haven’t seen the new Sar Wars, and actually turned down an invite to see it tonight. After having seen all the other ones (weren’t there like at least 43 of them?!) I haven’t any interest in sitting through yet another one.

    Dana (86e864)

  17. Dave (in MA),

    Yes. Very bad guys…

    Dana (86e864)

  18. How about a movie telling the story of a lying, traitorous and repugnant republican party?

    mg (31009b)

  19. The movie that needs to be made is how the democrats and republicans in Washington d.c. were tarred and feathered and sent to hell.

    mg (31009b)

  20. Kingsman was my favorite one i saw this year i think

    a refreshing re-invention of a tired genre

    i don’t get to watch a lot of movies cause of this is Peak TV and i’m always in the middle of some series or another and i’m way behind on those even

    happyfeet (831175)

  21. one thing i look for in a movie is whether it has benedict cumberbatch in it

    then i pick something else

    happyfeet (831175)

  22. Hoolyweird makes me want to puke.

    mg (31009b)

  23. yeah i’m not comfortable giving them my monies

    i got your star wars right here

    happyfeet (831175)

  24. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/03/trump-s-new-enforcers-are-buff-as-hell.html
    I love these Americans who are not afraid. Eff you republicans.

    mg (31009b)

  25. Take 1 – clinton + boosh + obama = disaster

    mg (31009b)

  26. this WaPo article on Chicago drudge pushed all weekend is unreadable

    Mayor Rahm Emanuel cut short a family vacation this past week and returned to a city in crisis: On the North Side, more than a dozen people stood outside his house, hurling insults.

    nope this is not a city in crisis, not yet anyways

    “Oh, it’s personal, all right. We’re making it personal,” yelled Ja’Mal Green, 20, a former Emanuel supporter who spent hours in bone-cold weather on the sidewalk outside the mayor’s spacious Ravenswood home

    nope we have not been having “bone-cold” weather

    The protests reflect frustration with chronic problems Emanuel inherited in Chicago

    nope they reflect that people have caught on that Rahm’s a nasty corrupt p.o.s.

    ok can’t read no mores

    i’ve almost made it through Jessica Jones on the Netflix:

    it’s way better than that Daredevil thing cause of that was a messy maladroit slog

    it’s still kind of too plodding to binge on though … Krysten Ritter is super-easy to watch but her character is always wearing the same facial expressions (and the same pair of jeans)

    David Tennant though is in awards territory I think – he really sunk his teefers into his character like how Donofrio did in Daredevil

    still i like what netflix is doing here exploring the whole dark dystopian obama-raped cityscapes what have been so ignored even as they become increasingly prevalent in this pathetic victimized sleazestate we call failmerica

    happyfeet (831175)

  27. Take 2
    Boston Globe reporters have to deliver morning papers.
    lmao at these liberal losers.

    mg (31009b)

  28. Concussion was outstanding. Will Smith did such a good job that I was occasionally confused when he was shown only in silhouette – as in, hey, that doctor looks a lot like Will Smith. Oh, right, that’s an actor.

    Besides that, there was a love of America, God, and actual science (not “I vote Democrat and therefore, am super-sciency”) that youvapst never see in a movie. It’s about a church going man who thinks America is the greatest country on earth, spending tens of thousands of his own dollars and late nights in a lab, trying to find answers.

    Okay, and the fact that it took some shots at Roger Goodall made this Massachusetts lady happy….

    bridget (ea91a7)

  29. We found Foyle’s War on Netflix to be very enjoyable.
    Looking forward to the 13 Hours movie coming out.

    MD in Philly (not in Philly) (deca84)

  30. Sicario is the best 2015 release I saw.

    NCC (1ea7f3)

  31. I rad that at one spot in “the Big Short” a character turns to the camera and explains that it didn’t really happen that way.

    Sammy Finkelman (67f658)

  32. OT Question: Rolly in the Salt Lake Tribune claims that Trump wants all Muslims in the US to register. I’m not aware of any such proposal. Does anyone know if Rolly’s right or not?

    ropelight (4cdf30)

  33. Trump wants to stop importing terrorist refugee trash and i think he’s right cause of he’s so smart about this sort of thing

    but here’s politifact’s round-up on the register question – politifact is not a very credible source but they have links you can follow

    happyfeet (831175)

  34. Thanks for the prompt responses. I really should have known about the issue in some detail, and was relieved to confirm that I didn’t comment on nk’s linked post.

    ropelight (4cdf30)

  35. I saw a few movies in theaters this year.

    “Gravity” had good special effects but the story made no sense. Still, the 3 D version was enjoyable.

    “Woman in Gold” was excellent. A doctor friend knows the young lawyer in the story and told me about it.

    “American Sniper” was excellent.

    “The Martian” was good.

    I have watched most of “Foyle’s War” and “Doc Martin” on Netflix.

    I have a collection of old movies on DVD that I watch from time to time. We rarely venture out to theaters.

    Mike K (90dfdc)

  36. I rad[sic] that at one spot in “the Big Short” a character turns to the camera and explains that it didn’t really happen that way.

    Automatically making it more accurate than Truth, Trumbo, anything by Michael Moore, and the entire Hobbit trilogy.

    CayleyGraph (353727)

  37. I haven’t seen the new Sar Wars, and actually turned down an invite to see it tonight. After having seen all the other ones (weren’t there like at least 43 of them?!) I haven’t any interest in sitting through yet another one.

    The franchise became ruined due in part to the use of too much CGI—an observation that applies to so many movies nowadays. The original episodes had a bit of natural charm to them, if you will, because various scenes originally required the use of real, live humans to be dressed in real, actual costumes. But bilge like Jar Jar Binks would’ve been bad regardless.

    I’m even more impressed by the skill of filmmakers like the guy who did “2001: A Space Odyssey” — which still looks rather impressively futuristic even by today’s standards — back in the late (ancient) 1960s. Then again, we did send a man to the moon around that time, well before the age of modern computers.

    Mark (f713e4)

  38. Good Allah, Gil is tiresome. He never fails to try to turn any topic towards the target of his hatred.

    Tombstone for the 4573rd time

    JD (f4089b)

  39. I haven’t seen a Star Wars movie since the first month the original version came out in the 70’s. I didn’t care for it then, and still don’t.

    JD (f4089b)

  40. i thought Guardians of the Galaxy was way better than any of the last 3 starwarses and truer to the spirit of the original

    knowing how the disneysluts are planning on churning out star wars ad nauseam like how they did “who wants to be a millionaire” makes me pretty sure it’s not a good investment for my entertainment monies

    happyfeet (831175)

  41. plus it had a space raccoon

    happyfeet (831175)

  42. Imagine how much easier it was to dupe people 2000 years ago into believing similar things.

    Gil (febf10) — 1/2/2016 @ 10:23 pm

    Who exactly got duped 2000 years ago and who duped them?

    Gerald A (949d7d)

  43. Greetings:

    These last two months of the year usually succeed in weaning me away from broadcast TV and push me into my DVD stacks. A couple of evening ago, I watched (or rewatched or rerewatched) director John Ford’s “Fort Apache” starring John Wayne and Henry Ford (and introducing John Agar, I guess because one can never have too many Johns (as opposed to Marions) on the set.)

    Well, I had a bit of a small ‘e’ epiphany. I notice that Director Ford seemed to have repurposed (21st Century speak for reused) a couple of themes from other of his ouevres. Specifically, Mr. Fonda has a rather extended terpsichorian sequence not greatly dissimilar from his routine in “My Darling Clementine” and Mr. Wayne, at the movies concluding denouement, has a scene not much different from the “Print the legend” scene in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”.

    Being a kind of recovering cavalryman myself, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I won’t be back back re-viewing Mr. Ford’s cavalry trilogy in what’s left of my future but, just the same, it was something that I hadn’t come across or read about Mr. Ford’s work elsewhere. As my father mentioned a time or two, “Keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut and you might learn something new.”

    11B40 (6abb5c)

  44. Yes it required more explanation re the kree’s gripe, but quill makes for a better han.

    narciso (8f8d1f)

  45. Hey Mike K.
    Did you see there is a new season of Foyle’s War on Netflix?

    About the plot in gravity –
    Maybe Steve57 knows about this,
    There actually have been multiple stories where people have been “saved by delusions”, a Navy pilot told to eject from his fighter at takeoff before mechanical failure plunged it into the sea, another pilot stuck in his harness underwater when a recently deceased buddy pulled him free are two of the well documented stories I have seen, so I assumed that is what was going on when the “dead astronaut returned to save her”.

    MD in Philly (not in Philly) (a25b20)

  46. i couldn’t get all the way through gravity

    at some point i was just over it

    happyfeet (831175)

  47. probably cause there weren’t any space raccoons

    happyfeet (831175)

  48. Having been face to with a raccoon cornered in a closet,
    I know that they can go from looking real cute to something out of alien really quick,
    Even a young one.

    Kind of a honey badger attitude

    MD in Philly (not in Philly) (deca84)

  49. happy,

    You do know that Disney owns Marvel, too?

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  50. Having been face to with a raccoon cornered in a closet

    But real fear is when you accidentally corner a skunk.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  51. i’ve long suspected this yes but this just confirms it

    happyfeet (831175)

  52. Hmmm,
    In my ‘hood raccoons falling through ceilings are far more common than skunks wandering into the basement or house,
    E
    We have no cute little doors for cats or dogs.

    MD in Philly (not in Philly) (deca84)

  53. “Tombstone for the 4573rd time.”

    – JD

    Tombstone rocks so hard.

    Leviticus (c3e73d)

  54. I enjoyed Interstellar, as well. Even with all the plot holes…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  55. This should keep you busy.

    A friend of mine asked me to make a watch list for them on IMDB.

    It aims towards older, and less obvious films of interest. So, while I say “The Avengers” is a great movie, I don’t think I put it here… because you don’t need to be told about it, if it’s interesting to you.

    http://www.imdb.com/user/ur60117809/watchlist

    A smallish list of 527 movies at the moment.

    Nicholas Bretagna II (225d0d)

  56. Mike K,

    Thanks for the reminder about Woman In Gold. I wanted to make sure I watched it on vacation. I’m a Klimt lover, and didn’t want to miss this story.

    A hearty yes to Tombstone. Especially now after Kurt Russell publicly professied his love for 2A.

    Dana (86e864)

  57. “Gravity”, meh. I started to watch it and the I drifted off…

    I also binge-watched the entire first season of The Man In The High Castle and enjoyed it. I’m hooked. Down the rabbithole I go.

    Dana (86e864)

  58. which plot holes, colonel

    It does demand a lot of attention, much like Inception, which drove me up a wall,

    narciso (732bc0)

  59. John Wick is a remake (of sorts) of Mel Gibson’s Payback, a watchable, if violent, movie. Sort of watching a comic book. It is a remake of Lee Marvin’s Point Blank. Which is based on the Parker novels.
    Just finished watching the last half of Tombstone. I can watch it anytime. Kurt Russell is great as always.
    In the same vein as above, Kurt Russell in Soldier is pretty good. He must have maybe 18 lines in the whole movie. It’s great.
    Speaking of Kurt Russell, Capt Ron is a hoot.
    I’ll second Ant Man. I loved the Thomas the Tank Engine scene.

    Bill Cook (de4f9b)

  60. Bill Cook,

    I think Mel Gibson’s character in “Payback” lacked the heart of Reeves’ Wick. I always enjoyed reading Parker’s work.

    Dana (86e864)

  61. Dana,

    the most recent Star Wars was pretty good and had the feel of the originals. Ford did a great job bringing Solo back to life. The only issue was the Mary Sue, but that’s what you get these days with SJW’s running things. “Women need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”

    That was the only thing that really bothered me.

    NJRob (a07d2e)

  62. Dana (86e864) — 1/3/2016 @ 5:09 pm

    Different “Parker”. He was the Marvin/Gibson-like character in the books by Donald E. Westlake (writing as Richard Stark). Other movies from Parker books were The Outfit with Robert Duval and Slayground with Peter Coyote. Westlake was the second wave of the hard-boiled thriller that included Mickey Spillane and John D. MacDonald. But not Robert B. Parker except, maybe, in his first attempt, The Godwulf Manuscript.

    nk (dbc370)

  63. And a thank you to Bill Cook for reminding me of the Parker (Richard Stark not Robert B.) books. I’ll dig up half a dozen or so.

    nk (dbc370)


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