Amph What was the last movie you saw? (Ver. 2)

Yeah, I heart Michael Biehn between Reese and Hicks he should have had a better career. This is my favorite of the Terminators for a lot of reasons (including Biehn), but the Tech Noir scene is still my favorite James Cameron sequence.

 

The Green Knight

Stylish, hypnotic, and captivating; The Green Knight contorts its source material (of which I am only familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's translation) into something new, playing almost like a series of episodic role-playing game encounters that build upon one another and weave into an adventurous tapestry of moral complexities that hit hard with the same core thematic intent of the original work.

I want to say more, but I'm still mulling the movie over. I absolutely loved this, and can see myself revisiting it quite often.

 

Catch Me If You Can
2002

Enjoyed this breezy film upon a rewatch although it slows down a bit during the Frank and Brenda portion and two hours and twenty minutes seems rather unjustified for this story. Hithcock could have made a better and tighter version in one hundred minutes or so.

This is a fun film though and gets into that reality based dreamy fantasy space Spielberg also evoked in The Terminal; the scenarios and scams DiCaprio's character pulls off are presented as quirky little vignettes, often making Tom Hank's character the target of the humiliation after being duped. And there are also moments of poignancy and familial drama as is often the case with Spielberg films.

John Williams wrote another terrific score for this although it was unintentionally funny when he scored a beautiful and melancholy serenade with strings and oboe when Frank has to work in Check Fraud for the rest of his sentence. Oh no that poor sob lol. It is interesting that Frank and Carl are friends irl and had many collaborations in the field of fraud and forgery.

The movie is entertaining and inoffensive, nothing remarkable but neither disagreeable in any way either.

 

I thought Giamatti was great in this. More would have been welcome - but he makes the most of it and stands out.

 

The World of Apu. Apu, now a young man struggling to succeed as a writer, must deal with poverty, romance, and heartbreak in the conclusion of the trilogy. As expected, it’s a beautiful, powerful, and painful film about the difficult process of maturity. It drifts a bit from the day-to-day realism of the earlier entries into a grander sort of romantic emotionalism, but doesn’t lose its poignancy. A worthy end to a lovely trilogy.

 

Many people point to Terminator 2: Judgment Day as best of Cameron's two films in the franchise, but whilst this sequel is bigger, noisier and more full spectacle, I think that The Terminator is the better film. In fact, I would say that it has one of the best film scripts I ever seen. It does not waste a single scene, and the story is propel forward all the time. My favourite detail is the way Reese portrayed as potentially dangerous stalker, and the way he looks at Sarah across the bar in the disco. Then comes the twist, he is there to protect her from The Terminator.

 

The Big City. Satyajit Ray examines the tensions between traditional India and modernity with the story of a woman entering the workforce to help her struggling family. She takes a job that opens up a new world of independent success to her, but her conservative in-laws don’t approve, her son is upset that his mom isn’t home, and her husband struggles with this uncomfortable new reality. As you would expect from Ray, this plays out in a sensitive, low-key, gentle, but emotionally powerful fashion. Excellent filmmaking.

 

Yes, the first Terminator is my favorite as well. The film is incredibly tight and as I'm more of a horror fan, I love the low budget horror vibes it gives and it's claustrophobic overall feel. I do still think T2 is a great movie, though that film definitely feels like a James Cameron film whereas this movie almost feels like a John Carpenter flick.

 

This Changes Everything (2019)

Have you ever noticed that for every "Hidden Figures" or "The Help" film there's probably two dozen Fast & The Furious, Terminator, or Rocky clones? Point is, there really aren't that many films that feature women, including women of color, in leading roles (much less directing). This documentary features discussions with dozens of women in Hollywood and other walks of life to cover their insight on gender inequality in the TV and film industry. It's definitely a wakeup call to those who haven't picked it up already.

I mean I've read over a dozen novels in just the past year, that were absolute page-turners. The one common denominator was that they were highly female-centric. Why aren't any of these stories being picked up as opposed to yet another installment of F&TF? WW directed by Patty Jenkins making about $1billion globally was good for the cause, but it doesn't feel like it's changed all that much.

The one thing I did find a little ironic was that this film was directed by a man, but at least was produced by Geena Davis; who is at the helm of a research institute for gender equality in the media.

 

T1 and T2 make up one the best 1-2 punches in movie history. Its a perfectly told story between the two and the ending of T2 wraps it up so beautifully. But yes, T1 is a certified classic in every way.

 

Different strokes. The only post Aliens Cameron movie I kind of like is True Lies.

@Chancellor Yoda Agreed about the almost horror movie feel of the first Terminator and little nods to Carpenter.

 

The Secret of my Success

TV is utter garbage and this is available on Prime. Easy and ridiculour 1980's schlock. Gotta love it, I may go for the Transformers movie later on today after I've had a glass of wine

 

Star Trek JJ Abrams
rewatched on Netflix. I bounce back and forth on whether I really like this movie and/or find it dated and too JJ eager to please. I do enjoy Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana in this movie. That's JJ's superpower - he's great at casting.

 

In my experience, if you cast well and get a good DP, that's 90% of a director's job done.

 

Cats and Dogs: Paws Unite! on one of the movie channels. It wasn't bad but I'm glad I didn't pay cinema money. I liked the first two films. There are worse ways to spend 90 minutes.

 

Has anyone seen the new will Smith movie about the tennis girls?

 

Is it out yet?

 

No, my mistake

 

no

 

Charulata. Charulata is the wife of a wealthy man whose attention is devoted to politics and running his newspaper. She’s interested in literature and poetry, but he isn’t, and she has nothing to do all day in a house run by servants, with no children. Bored and neglected, she finally finds stimulation when his goofball writer cousin comes to stay. He pays attention to her and discusses literature, and they become attracted to each other. It is, at its heart, a fairly simple tale about the importance of attentiveness and warmth at home. But it is told with the richness and emotional subtlety of Satyajit Ray, whose ability to explore the nuances of domestic relationships is outstanding.

 

1 BR
2019
Wow what a great little thriller. Young woman moves to LA to get away from her father, who she has issues with because he cheated on her dying mother. She is accepted in an apartment complex where everyone is really really friendly. Soon she realizes things are not as they seem. Do not watch if you are creeped out by cults if if you really like cats. But otherwise recommended.

 

Gunpowder Milkshake

Imagine if John Wick, Sin City and Kill Bill had a baby, and then they dropped the baby to the floor multiple times for 2 hours.

 

101 Dalmations
1961

Entertaining animated Disney classic with some nice art design and drawings. I especially like the tone, urban setting, and production design of the first section before the mean lady shows up and the action moves out to the snowy country.

Pongo and Perdita and their family of 15 puppies are cute, especially the chubby one who keeps saying sweetly "I'm hungry mother."

One thing though, Anita seems like such a nice person, why in the hell was she friends with Cruella De Vil?

Are the other movies based off this cartoon any good? Glenn Close and Emma Stone star in films based on this universe if I recall.

 

Does that mean it’s awesome or excruciatingly painful to watch?