Sir Stewart Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Started watching that new Maria Bamford Netflix series. I generally like her, I appreciate that's she's working through mental health issues, I saw a ton of hype from comics on Twitter praising it, congratulating her. I turned it off 2/3rds into episode one. Let that insular world congratulate itself with its whatever, turning Hollywood inside out or something, I don't give a shit about it. Patton Oswalt shows up in character and breaks character to warn Maria against using standup within the show. Come on, sendups are over. Just make shit funny and/or poignant. The first five minutes had promise, but it went downhill fast. Reminded me of that other Netflix show The Characters. That was unwatchable too. Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 That reminds of the Kristen Wiig film Welcome To Me where she has mental health issues and starts a talk show on a public access channel that gets huge ratings. It was uncomfortable to watch, but brave for walking the tightrope of being funny and being dramatic. I wouldn't watch it again.I fell in love with Richard Linklater's love letter to that weekend on campus right before college starts in Everybody Wants Some!! I could watch this film & "hang out" with these characters tons of times. Great cast of unknowns and paced extremely well. In fact, the main character's love interest is the daughter of Lea Thompson. A nice snapshot of late August 1980. It's also a baseball movie. The soundtrack is amazing! There's a YouTube playlist that has all 41 songs and it's worth a listen. The Lobster was incredibly dark and funny. Colin Farrell's line readings of mundane things that we talk about on dates was spot on. The whole thing works as a social commentary on expectations of relationships.The Nice Guys was a hilarious throwback to the buddy cop movies of the 80s & the cop movies of the 70s. Ryan Gosling turns in one hell of a comedic performance including a nod to Lou Costello.I'll be back later with some words about High Rise, Green Room, Special Correspondents and Sing Street. Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Cell - John Cusack & Samuel L. Jackson team up for another Stephen King adaptation that's been in distribution limbo for 2 years. I thought that this was a very good & highly entertaining zombie flick. The film had some very cool shots mixed in with some pedestrian straight-to-streaming cinematography. I've never read the book, so I'm not sure how close it resembles it. The film opens in a stand in for Boston's Logan Airport. Cusack runs down a set of stairs to the T subway station. I can say as a New Englander that this is completely false. Available on iTunes now & in limited release on July 8th. Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Watched this again last night. It's a pretty fascinating story and I think it holds up pretty well as a movie. Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Watched this again last night. It's a pretty fascinating story and I think it holds up pretty well as a movie. I've never seen it. Perhaps I should! Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 I want to recommend The Family Fang which was based off of a 2011 book. Jason Bateman (who directed) & Nicole Kidman play siblings of performance artist parents (Christopher Walken & Maryann Plunkett) who go missing. Kidman plays an accomplished actress who is asked to go topless for a scene and suffers a mini-meltdown. Bateman plays a novelist who takes freelance journalism jobs. His potato gun story sets the film into motion. We see flashbacks of the parents putting on these "cons" which they consider performance art. And the kids are always a part of it and they refer to them as A & B. It felt like The Brothers Bloom mixed in with Now You Can See Me in terms of tone. Of course, the siblings have opposite ideas of what happened to their parents. Are they really missing or is just another performance piece? Kidman & Bateman have great chemistry here. It's too bad that this slipped through the cracks. It's available on iTunes for rental. Maggie's Plan was "meh" for me. It started off great with Greta Gerwig meeting cute with Ethan Hawke. Well, Hawke is already married to the "ice cold & controlling" Julianne Moore. Hawke believes she's the reason why he can't write the novel. He blames her for the silence & disconnection at their family dinner table. Gerwig wants a baby, but not someone to raise it with. There were a few funny scenes with the donor that made people laugh out loud. Long story short: Hawke winds up with Gerwig for the hour long midsection of the film and the same stuff happens. Gerwig & Hawke sit at the family dinner table silent. She accuses him of being more involved with his novel than loving her, so she sets out to reunite him with Moore. It sounds convoluted because it is and it's a bore to get to the finish line. Plus, Moore & Hawke have zero chemistry. I understand their relationship is supposed to be distant, but there's supposed to be some level of spark there that doesn't show up between them at all. The scenes with Gerwig, Bill Hader & Maya Rudolph are well written. Hawke feels like he's playing a neutered version of his Jessie character from the Before Sunrise trilogy. Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 Hawke feels like he's playing a neutered version of his Jessie character from the Before Sunrise trilogy.My wife said the same thing. It's true, of course, but it bothered her more than it bothered me, perhaps because I'm almost always on Hawke's wavelength. Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted June 22, 2016 Author Share Posted June 22, 2016 Two very different documentaries: Jaco (2014) I Am Thor (2015) Link to post Share on other sites
Boss_Tweedy Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 Really getting into ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary series. As binge-watching goes one could do a whole lot worse. Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Two very different documentaries: Jaco (2014) I Am Thor (2015)Yeah. One is a god and the other is the son of Odin. Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 I sort of recall that guy back in the heavy medal days of the late 80s. I don't really care for the type of music Jaco played - but he certainly was the man. Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 The Neon Demon - Nicholas Winding Refn created a surreal fairy tale & at times nightmare about what it's like to be the "It Girl". Lots of scenes play out where other young women are ignored and Dakota Fanning grabs their attention. The score sounds like Angelo Badalementi taking a crack at Daft Punk's Tron: Legacy soundtrack. The cinematography is amazing and filled with neon colors. It reminded me of a live action Moonbeam City (Comedy Central). I can't recall a time where everyone in the theater looked at the stranger or friend next to them during one of the most uncomfortable scenes. The film is full of dark moments where people are consumed with lust for the main character (Fanning). It felt all too familiar to me in terms of the theme. I can think of a ton of actresses who were the "It Girl" and were quickly replaced. I enjoyed this a lot more than Only God Forgives which I thought was way too sparse with the dialog which made the symbolism murky to me. Link to post Share on other sites
winterland121072 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Wimbledon...come on Fed! Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Not looking good Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to post Share on other sites
anthony Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 PSA: the Back to the Future trilogy is now streaming on Netflix. A true classic that holds up. Plus, bonus Huey Lewis. Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 PSA: the Back to the Future trilogy is now streaming on Netflix. A true classic that holds up. Plus, bonus Huey Lewis. I agree! They are fun movies. Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Netflix series Marcella was good. Link to post Share on other sites
Boss_Tweedy Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Streaming on Netflix: Link to post Share on other sites
nalafej Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Night of - amazing first episode. Still thinking about it. Link to post Share on other sites
NoJ Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Great news! PBS picked up MST3K and is showing it on Sunday nights at 11pm on their Prime channel. I watched Manos: Hands of Fate the other night. G'damn what a crazy awful flick but hilarious too thanks to Joel and the bots. Then there's Torgo and his haunting theme. Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Murder In Successville Link to post Share on other sites
u2roolz Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Bloodline - Season 2: my favorite NetFlix series delivered and did so with quite a few surprises. I won't spoil much, but Ben Mendelsohn showed a different side to Danny. John Leguizamo & Andrea Riseborough brought new energy & characters to the show. Swiss Army Man - I didn't like this film at all. The whole thing felt juvenile & tedious. However, the acting was very good. Stranger Things - I'm 3 episodes in on NetFlix's latest series & it's extremely well done. It's been perfectly described as a cross between Steven Spielberg & Stephen King. I love the synth score and the opening credits. It always amazes me how they can replicate that 80s "look". The 4 kids are fun to watch and there are lots of nods & homages to all things 80s. I'm not sure where the show will go after this short 8 episode season. Oh, and Matthew Modine looks ducking nuts with white hair. Link to post Share on other sites
NoJ Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Saw "10 Cloverfield Lane" the other day. Also, watched "Hot Wet American Summer". Both I'd rate a solid meh. Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Going to rent Green Room tonight. I liked the director's other movie: Blue Ruin, very much. Link to post Share on other sites
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