Movies 2023

[OttoinGrotto]

What about Inception?

Inception was good, but I think it's the most depressing movie Nolan has ever made. People misidentify the themes of his movies. For example, a lot of people watch Interstellar and index on the mentions of love and family/human connection, but the movie is actually about how there is no such thing as free will.

Inception is about how death is the only and final certainty.

 

[two3zone]

I’m watching all of the planet of the apes in the right order. Have never seen any of them, but the first one was awesome.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I’m watching all of the planet of the apes in the right order. Have never seen any of them, but the first one was awesome.

Meant to ask, the old ones, or the new ones?

They're both interesting, for different reasons.

 

[two3zone]

Meant to ask, the old ones, or the new ones?

They're both interesting, for different reasons.

Both, in order of the Ape timeline. I don’t remember much other than rooting for the apes the entire time.

 

[chugg21]

Did anyone see Asteroid City?

I did. Liked not loved.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I did. Liked not loved.

That’s kinda my expectation. I love Wes Anderson, but this film looks like it’s an overload of Wes-ness aesthetics, and less about the kinds of things that make his films really wonderful.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I did. Liked not loved.

Same.

I appreciated that it was going for something different. I found it really entertaining the whole time. That said, not a great movie.

 

[chugg21]

That’s kinda my expectation. I love Wes Anderson, but this film looks like it’s an overload of Wes-ness aesthetics, and less about the kinds of things that make his films really wonderful.

It is. Same as French Dispatch. Feel like I've been fairly disappointed since Royal Tennenbaums save for Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

It is. Same as French Dispatch. Feel like I've been fairly disappointed since Royal Tennenbaums save for Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest.

Yes.
After Tenenbaums, every one of his films disappoints me. Initially. And then i watch it a second time, more fairly and more objectively, not expecting it to be like/as good as Tenenbaums. And usually i can get to love the 'other' films.

Zissou i originally didn't like, but now i love it. Darjeeling, same, but now i like it a lot. Grand Budapest... was amazing, but even though i like it now, i'm still put off by Fiennes as the star and consistent focal point. He was good in it, but something just doesn't sit right.

I didn't like Moonrise. Just didn't get any good vibes from those two kids.

French Dispatch... Difficult to discuss. Beautiful. An amazing piece of cinema. But, with 'anthological' stuff/mini stories, unless you like most of the stories, it feels like a letdown. I loved the art bit. the others, not so much.

Zissou was the first of his films where i thought, "Oh, no—he's got too large of a budget and too much autonomy—he's going to spend and make 'big' films when his gift is in the small stuff." But, then i ended up loving Zissou.

Asteroid City, from just the preview clips, looks like all surface. Even the dialog and acting seems intentionally flat. I hope i'm wrong. Wish i could buy a DVD now, instead of paying $25 to 'own' it digitally*. Eh. Whatever. Those are the times.


*Forgot to mention that I’m in Mexico, so seeing it in theater wasn’t practical.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Okay, so i finally saw Asteroid City.

I will re-preface these comments by reiterating that i am a massive Wes Anderson fan. One of my life's thrills was seeing a premiere/screening of Grand Budapest Hotel, with Wes Anderson there doing a Q&A. I was a wannabe screenwriter/director until a year or two ago, and he's my most inspiring cinematic hero.

Asteroid City was the most disappointing of his films. Easily.

As i feared/expected, it was visually a caricature of himself. A surface, emotionless auto-cliché. And even with that, it wasn't nearly as visually stimulating as his last two films. Budapest and French Dispatch were both spectacular. This one was lovely, but not nearly as impactful in that respect.

The issue, though, is not with the aesthetics. I love his design sensibilities. But, that's all this film had.

There was the unnecessary complication of the layers of reality vs play. I know he has a stage fetish, but it starts to feel ridiculous when he is compulsively shoehorning that into every film. I think it would have been so much more congruent if it were just done as a retro fantasy, because the actors side of the story didn't reach any significant level of meaningfulness. In fact, it was a distraction that made the characters even more superficial because neither side was developed.

Characters/Actors: here's the thing–not one of the characters or actors was important in any way. Every one of them could have been replaced by some other actor and there would have been no loss. What's the word they use in baseball? Fungible? In Anderson's better movies, there are iconic characters, unforgettable lines and moments, and a resonating depth to some sets of emotions they experience. This had none of that. And, in fact, the 'biggest moments' are always underplayed to the point of almost ignoring them. That was obviously an intention, but i can't understand the rationale. Might have been okay if, on the other hand, the smaller moments became magnified and it was all about nuance, but i feel as if it was all completely underwhelming.

 

[upperdeck]

Saw MI part 1 today. The set pieces were great as usual. Car/train/motorcycle/parachute other chase scenes.
Dont know how you go much bigger in the stunts.

A nice call back part.. One surprising scene if you avoid knowing too much like I do. Atwell was awesome , Wish Agent Carter had stayed around longer.

 

[tbonezone]

Yes.
After Tenenbaums, every one of his films disappoints me. Initially. And then i watch it a second time, more fairly and more objectively, not expecting it to be like/as good as Tenenbaums. And usually i can get to love the 'other' films.

Zissou i originally didn't like, but now i love it. Darjeeling, same, but now i like it a lot. Grand Budapest... was amazing, but even though i like it now, i'm still put off by Fiennes as the star and consistent focal point. He was good in it, but something just doesn't sit right.

I didn't like Moonrise. Just didn't get any good vibes from those two kids.

French Dispatch... Difficult to discuss. Beautiful. An amazing piece of cinema. But, with 'anthological' stuff/mini stories, unless you like most of the stories, it feels like a letdown. I loved the art bit. the others, not so much.

Zissou was the first of his films where i thought, "Oh, no—he's got too large of a budget and too much autonomy—he's going to spend and make 'big' films when his gift is in the small stuff." But, then i ended up loving Zissou.

Asteroid City, from just the preview clips, looks like all surface. Even the dialog and acting seems intentionally flat. I hope i'm wrong. Wish i could buy a DVD now, instead of paying $25 to 'own' it digitally*. Eh. Whatever. Those are the times.


*Forgot to mention that I’m in Mexico, so seeing it in theater wasn’t practical.

moonrise and budapest are comic masterpieces if you enjoy high brain function humor.

 

[donniesyracuse]

moonrise and budapest are comic masterpieces if you enjoy high brain function humor.

This order changes dramatically on a daily basis and does not include the animated films or shorts.

1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Rushmore
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Asteroid City
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
6. The French Dispatch
7. Bottle Rocket
8. The Darjeeling Limited
9. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

 

[Zelda Zonk]

This order changes dramatically on a daily basis and does not include the animated films or shorts.

1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Rushmore
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Asteroid City
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
6. The French Dispatch
7. Bottle Rocket
8. The Darjeeling Limited
9. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

I’d go:
1 Royal
2 Zissou
3 Budapest
4 Rushmore or
5 Darjeeling
6 French
7 Bottle Rocket
8 Moonrise
9 Asteroid

 

[tbonezone]

Both, in order of the Ape timeline. I don’t remember much other than rooting for the apes the entire time.

Great Apespectations .i enjoyed the musical

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Quick run-downs on some other stuff i've seen lately:

1) Heart of Stone — I like Gal Gadot, but this was dumb. Like a dumber version of the Citadel series on Amazon, except as a movie.

2) Cocaine Bear — I probably shouldn't have been disappointed, but i was. I expected silly, but on a higher level. It was... okay, i guess. Not boring. Just not something i'll ever need to watch again.

3) Babylon — I liked Damien Chazelle's Whiplash. I even watched the short version. Then i even went back to watch his student short, Guy and Madeleine on a Park Bench. But, i didn't like LaLa Land—didn't even bother to finish it. Babylon is... three hours long. It's a massive undertaking. Much of the filmmaking is spectacular. But, it's also a spectacular POS. Margot Robbie can act her ass off. She's amazing in everything i've seen. She has more 'life' in her than just about anyone i've ever seen. But, this film manages to make her look... not so good. Fine, that's her character but it typically seemed less like a directorial choice than just bad lighting/processing. Whatever. That's not the problem. Brad Pitt was also quite good. as was Diego Calva, the first i've seen of him. But, this was another film that seemed like the director became 'the next big thing,' so he was given a trillion dollars to spend and he was going to spend it, whether or not that actually made for a better film. It was all over the place, had too many bouts of both the glorification and villainization of Hollywood, and too much excess (intentional redundancy). Something to be seen, but i don't think it was a 'good' film.

4) The Beanie Bubble — Galifianakis was good. It was a decent watch, but not funny enough to be a comedy, and not dramatic enough to be a drama. A tweener that didn't 'hit' on anything. If anything, it was interesting to relive the era(s) and see the impact of the titular subject matter. I remember some of that, but not all of it, and either i didn't realize/remember the impact as portrayed, or it was hyperbolized for the film.

5) 65 — Adam Driver in space. Not bad. Probably saved by the charm and performance of the young girl co-star, Ariana Greenblat. She was so good that early on, i was proud of myself for 'spotting someone who i expected to be a new star,' and was disappointed when i googled her to find that everyone else (the industry) already knew about her.

 

[donniesyracuse]

We have been exploring Greta Gerwig’s filmography lately. She has been involved in many interesting and quirky projects, particularly those with Noah Baumbach. We watched Frances Ha (2012) and Damsels in Distress (2011) (directed by Whit Stillman) last night. Both are strange and amusing films.

 

[maxxyz]

We have been exploring Greta Gerwig’s filmography lately. She has been involved in many interesting and quirky projects, particularly those with Noah Baumbach. We watched Frances Ha (2012) and Damsels in Distress (2011) (directed by Whit Stillman) last night. Both are strange and amusing films.

I think she on her way to a top tier directing career, showing that she can work on bigger budget films as will as her indie projects.

What I didn't grasp is how lengthy her acting career has been. Her resume looks like someone who started young as a kid actor, but her first credits were when she was 24. Impressive.

​

 

[upperdeck]

I wonder she acts or writes in something I ever see?

 

[OttoinGrotto]

We have been exploring Greta Gerwig’s filmography lately. She has been involved in many interesting and quirky projects, particularly those with Noah Baumbach. We watched Frances Ha (2012) and Damsels in Distress (2011) (directed by Whit Stillman) last night. Both are strange and amusing films.

Lady Bird!

 

[donniesyracuse]

Lady Bird!

Yes, that’s a good one

 

[maxxyz]

Yes, that’s a good one

Little Women!

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I finally, begrudgingly watched Don’t Worry Darling.

I went in with only a faint memory that there was a lot of drama and controversy in the production, but I had forgotten all the specifics. As well, I had no idea what the film was about. I kinda intentionally didn’t look it up or check the synopsis/preview first, thinking that if I knew, i prolly wouldn’t watch it. So I had low expectations.

But, I thought it was quite good. A little ‘mindbending‘ and psychedelic, which I totally didn’t expect. Directed by Olivia Wilde (mostly), and I was surprised at how ‘tight’ and well-visioned it was. Florence Pugh was pretty good. I had never seen Harry Styles in anything—he was adequate.

Makes me look forward to Olivia’s next directorial effort, though if you read about all of the issues with this film, it will be interesting to see who gives her the opportunity and at what budget level. [I guess I should have IMDBd her to see what she’s got going…. Okay, so, never mind that last comment. She’s directing a Marvel project, so I guess all that stuff didn’t hurt her much. Funny, while I was watching the action sequence in this film I was thinking she would be ideal for the next Wonder Woman project, if there is to be one. The last one was horrific.]

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I finally, begrudgingly watched Don’t Worry Darling.

I went in with only a faint memory that there was a lot of drama and controversy in the production, but I had forgotten all the specifics. As well, I had no idea what the film was about. I kinda intentionally didn’t look it up or check the synopsis/preview first, thinking that if I knew, i prolly wouldn’t watch it. So I had low expectations.

But, I thought it was quite good. A little ‘mindbending‘ and psychedelic, which I totally didn’t expect. Directed by Olivia Wilde (mostly), and I was surprised at how ‘tight’ and well-visioned it was. Florence Pugh was pretty good. I had never seen Harry Styles in anything—he was adequate.

Makes me look forward to Olivia’s next directorial effort, though if you read about all of the issues with this film, it will be interesting to see who gives her the opportunity and at what budget level. [I guess I should have IMDBd her to see what she’s got going…. Okay, so, never mind that last comment. She’s directing a Marvel project, so I guess all that stuff didn’t hurt her much. Funny, while I was watching the action sequence in this film I was thinking she would be ideal for the next Wonder Woman project, if there is to be one. The last one was horrific.]

Styles was good in Dunkirk.