Movies - Take Two. Action!

[Hal...]

This is one of the best things I've seen in ages and better than most movies I've seen in the past few years. It's a video from a news chopper of a high-speed chase back in November that covered two counties in California. It was fascinating, entertaining, and unbelievable, with a couple of twists and turns (wait till you see the sweatshirt the guy's wearing when they finally pull him out of the car; it made me laugh out loud).

I am not exaggerating when I say it literally ends very nearly like the ending of The Blues Brothers, too.

I googled it after watching it and the suspect is looking at 25 charges, some of them multiple counts. Some are felonies and some are misdemeanors but, if convicted, he faces 54 years in prison. The irony? He was on parole --- for carjacking and evading police!

[nycsteve]

On Netflix , You People with Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill. Should have been better. Semi serious Murphy . Lots of what amount to cameos , Elliot Gould Davd Duchovny , the fantastic Richard Benjamin. So much talent , so much missed potential. Its not a dud but its socially conscious, I can do without the preaching , I just want escape. 2 1/2 stars of 4.

[Hal...]

I saw the commercial for Cocaine Bear during one of the playoff games. I didn't even bother watching the trailer someone posted here recently because it appeared to me to be another one of those stupid movies like Snakes on a Plane or Anaconda. But holy shit, the cast made me really take notice: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Ray Liotta, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Margo Martindale. Not that that's a guarantee it'll be any good but I will definitely see it once it's available on demand or to stream.

BTW, it's inspired by a true story:

...a 175-pound American black bear died after ingesting a duffel bag full of cocaine in December 1985. The cocaine had been dropped out of an airplane piloted by Andrew C. Thornton II, a former narcotics officer and convicted drug smuggler, because his plane was carrying too heavy a load. Thornton then jumped out of the plane with a faulty parachute and died. The bear was found three months later in northern Georgia alongside 40 opened plastic containers of cocaine. (Wikipedia)

[moecurlythanu]

^ Bear: "Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1985!"

[Jerjo]

We watched White Noise. My wife thought it was going to be upscale disaster porn and boy, it wasn't that. Instead it was an absurdist comedy/drama taking aim at marriage, academia, suburbia, fear of death, those wonderful 80s, and then there was the German atheist nuns. I did not read the book and had no idea where it was going. The dialog was highly stylized (writer/director wrote for Wes Anderson) and visually it is fascinating. Is it great, or even good? I haven't decided. I'll leave that to the likes of Hal to decide. I'll just say I was entertained and I'm still processing it.

[aith01]

We watched White Noise. My wife thought it was going to be upscale disaster porn and boy, it wasn't that. Instead it was an absurdist comedy/drama taking aim at marriage, academia, suburbia, fear of death, those wonderful 80s, and then there was the German atheist nuns. I did not read the book and had no idea where it was going. The dialog was highly stylized (writer/director wrote for Wes Anderson) and visually it is fascinating. Is it great, or even good? I haven't decided. I'll leave that to the likes of Hal to decide. I'll just say I was entertained and I'm still processing it.

Yeah, I watched it a few weeks ago and I'm still processing it. I think I may see it again now that I know what to expect and can pay more attention to the details I probably missed.

An ambitious movie for sure.

Love the LCD Soundsystem song during the end credits too.

[Lou]

^ Bear: "Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1985!"

Brilliant!

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

After all these decades, I finally watched The Wiz, and ... it wasn't bad. I liked that the writers and director were clearly familiar with the books as well as the MGM movie. The songs ... varied in quality. (But then, so did those in the MGM movie.) And some scenes just dragged on. But overall I liked it.

(And I hadn't thought about the name Nipsy Russell since about the time that movie originally came out...)

[SteveSly]

I saw the commercial for Cocaine Bear during one of the playoff games. I didn't even bother watching the trailer someone posted here recently because it appeared to me to be another one of those stupid movies like Snakes on a Plane or Anaconda. But holy shit, the cast made me really take notice: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Ray Liotta, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Margo Martindale. Not that that's a guarantee it'll be any good but I will definitely see it once it's available on demand or to stream.

BTW, it's inspired by a true story:

...a 175-pound American black bear died after ingesting a duffel bag full of cocaine in December 1985. The cocaine had been dropped out of an airplane piloted by Andrew C. Thornton II, a former narcotics officer and convicted drug smuggler, because his plane was carrying too heavy a load. Thornton then jumped out of the plane with a faulty parachute and died. The bear was found three months later in northern Georgia alongside 40 opened plastic containers of cocaine. (Wikipedia)

My buddy and I are planning to see it in the theater with a big as 24oz Bell's Two Hearted Ale in hand and just have fun with it. Lots of good people in the cast. It may suck or it may be great, but with our movie pass I can't pass this one up!

[hippypants]

The Spy Who Loved Me--007 with Roger Moore and Barbara Bach. Sort of a nostalgic watch, tho I'd never seen it before all the way through. Pretty fun, first appearance of Jaws, I think.

[NogbadTheBad]

Watched The Harder They Fall last night. Should have been better, got fed up with people not just shooting the enemy in front of them. Too many pausing to talk or putting their guns down to save one person then all of them getting shot. Too much dumbness.

[SteveSly]

Watched The Harder They Fall last night. Should have been better, got fed up with people not just shooting the enemy in front of them. Too many pausing to talk or putting their guns down to save one person then all of them getting shot. Too much dumbness.

Agree, it was not as good as it should have been with that cast.

[SteveSly]

Saw the new Brandon Cronenberg film “Infinity Pool” yesterday in the theater. The film is yet another take on the theme of super rich people getting away with whatever they want, but it had some unique plot twists and I enjoyed it for the most part. It is one of those films that at the end you think “what the hell did I just watch”, but I am still thinking about it today. I will probably go back and watch it again once it comes on TV. It is not a perfect movie by any means, and I had issues with parts of it, but I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

[spellbound]

Don't Worry Darling - set in the 1950s, except for one newer car that didn't get the memo, men work to keep their homes and stepford wives in someone's idea of an exclusive utopia. Florence Pugh's character doesn't quite see it that way. Filmed in the California desert, including Palm Springs. Been there. I noticed sunlight at the very tops of the nearby mountains, which can only happen in the early morning there. They used it as the backdrop for the men returning from work in the evening.

The Good House - trials and tribulations of an alcoholic realtor, played by Sigourney Weaver. Based on a novel by Anne Leary, wife of comedian Denis Leary. My wife read the book, so we had to watch the movie. Starts out slow, but the second half is decent comedy-drama.

The Banshees of Inisherin - Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as old friends on an island off the coast of Ireland. Suddenly, to Farrell's character's surprise, they are no longer friends. You have to see the movie to learn what happens.

White Lotus Season 1 - Cable TV series we heard about and thought we'd check out. Entertaining.

Ticket To Paradise - George Clooney and Julia Roberts play a divorced couple who don't like each other, in this comedy. They travel to the tropics for their daughter's wedding, which they proceed to bugger up.

[SteveSly]

Don't Worry Darling - set in the 1950s, except for one newer car that didn't get the memo, men work to keep their homes and stepford wives in someone's idea of an exclusive utopia. Florence Pugh's character doesn't quite see it that way. Filmed in the California desert, including Palm Springs. Been there. I noticed sunlight at the very tops of the nearby mountains, which can only happen in the early morning there. They used it as the backdrop for the men returning from work in the evening.

The Good House - trials and tribulations of an alcoholic realtor, played by Sigourney Weaver. Based on a novel by Anne Leary, wife of comedian Denis Leary. My wife read the book, so we had to watch the movie. Starts out slow, but the second half is decent comedy-drama.

The Banshees of Inisherin - Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as old friends on an island off the coast of Ireland. Suddenly, to Farrell's character's surprise, they are no longer friends. You have to see the movie to learn what happens.

White Lotus Season 1 - Cable TV series we heard about and thought we'd check out. Entertaining.

Ticket To Paradise - George Clooney and Julia Roberts play a divorced couple who don't like each other, in this comedy. They travel to the tropics for their daughter's wedding, which they proceed to bugger up.

Regarding White Lotus, I thought season 2 was significantly better than season 1.

Banshees was great, Don't Worry Darling, not so much.

[spellbound]

Regarding White Lotus, I thought season 2 was significantly better than season 1.

Banshees was great, Don't Worry Darling, not so much.

I will watch season 2 of White Lotus when and if my library gets it on DVD.

I agree, Banshees was great. During Don't Worry Darling I kept falling asleep, then rewinding to see what I missed, and often falling asleep again. I checked the movie length on imdb. It was 2 hours. Seemed much longer. Best thing the movie had going for it was Florence Pugh's performance.

[Jerjo]

The Good House - trials and tribulations of an alcoholic realtor, played by Sigourney Weaver. Based on a novel by Anne Leary, wife of comedian Denis Leary. My wife read the book, so we had to watch the movie. Starts out slow, but the second half is decent comedy-drama.

This one was a pleasant surprise. Bonus for having older actors that I could relate to.

Shut up, get off my lawn.

[SteveSly]

I will watch season 2 of White Lotus when and if my library gets it on DVD.

I agree, Banshees was great. During Don't Worry Darling I kept falling asleep, then rewinding to see what I missed, and often falling asleep again. I checked the movie length on imdb. It was 2 hours. Seemed much longer. Best thing the movie had going for it was Florence Pugh's performance.

Agree about Pugh's performance. She was great, but the film itself could have been a lot better IMO.

[mozo-pg]

I thought season two of White Lotus was quite good but season one was hilarious/excellent. Much preferred 1.

[spellbound]

Agree about Pugh's performance. She was great, but the film itself could have been a lot better IMO.

No doubt. I usually like that subject matter in a movie. Maybe it was made that way intentionally - to point out the boredom in a utopia? In the same way Melancholia was made to show life through the eyes of the clinically depressed. But director Olivia Wilde is no Lars von Trier.

[SteveSly]

I thought season two of White Lotus was quite good but season one was hilarious/excellent. Much preferred 1.

Interesting. I was not even sure I wanted to watch season 2 after season 1. I thought Jennifer Coolidge and the guy who played the hotel manager were both amazing, but the rest of it just didn't do a lot for me. My wife and I both debated about watching season 2, but once we did we both thought it was quite a bit better. Oh well, to each their own.

[SteveSly]

No doubt. I usually like that subject matter in a movie. Maybe it was made that way intentionally - to point out the boredom in a utopia? In the same way Melancholia was made to show life through the eyes of the clinically depressed. But director Olivia Wilde is no Lars von Trier.

Good point and that could be, I just did not think it was executed that well.

[Jerjo]

My wife, who has clinical depression and loves disaster porn, has watched Melancholia a bit too many times. I get that she finds some resonance in it but man, it just makes me want to walk out into traffic.

[aith01]

My wife, who has clinical depression and loves disaster porn, has watched Melancholia a bit too many times. I get that she finds some resonance in it but man, it just makes me want to walk out into traffic.

Yeesh… I tried that movie but wasn’t able to make it much past the first thirty minutes or so. I may try it again some day. So depressing and hopeless, which of course was the point I’m sure. But feel-good viewing it is not.

[spellbound]

Bodies Bodies Bodies - This has been called a horror film, a slasher film, and a murder mystery. I agree most with the latter. A group of young people at a hurricane party, whatever that is, are forced to communicate face to face when their phones die. They turn out not to be particularly nice people when some of them are killed. This was, perhaps surprisingly, a decent movie with some comedy aspects. It's more about people than about gore.