Now Watching 2021

[jff]

We watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople this weekend.  It was terrific.  Not new, but highly recommended.  

 

[chuckrh]

[kidsmoke]

1 hour ago, chuckrh said:

 

How is it??

[chuckrh]

2 hours ago, kidsmoke said:

 

How is it??

It was actually good! Fine mindless entertainment.

[kidsmoke]

16 minutes ago, chuckrh said:

It was actually good! Fine mindless entertainment.

Ha, sometimes that's ideal. Sounds fun.

[chuckrh]

Excellent

[kidsmoke]

What's the backstory? Sounds interesting!

[chuckrh]

15 minutes ago, kidsmoke said:

What's the backstory? Sounds interesting!

2 piece metal band on tour (a couple) are on tour when the drummer suddenly starts to lose his hearing rapidly. He ends up at a school for the deaf & learning sign language while hoping for an operation to stop his loss. There's also an addiction element. It's on Amazon. Note: watch with subtitles as they give an additional perspective from his point of view. The flim was also nominated for best original screenplay. I thought the film was very original & not your run of the mill hollywood production. The director didn't get nominated but did write the screenplay.

[Beltmann]

A few days ago I watched Slacker for the umpteenth time because I’m reading Melissa Maerz’s book Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused and the opening section contains roughly 50 wonderfully detailed pages about Slacker, Linklater's 1991 indie breakthrough. The film, which was made for $23,000 and has no plot, captures in amber the specific misfit subculture of Austin, Texas in the Nineties. The movie always peters out for me, but I nevertheless remain fascinated by its shaggy ambience and its baton-passing structure, which lets more than 80 characters take center stage for a few minutes. This movie was a formative experience for me as a burgeoning cinephile. Has it really been 30 years?
 

Bonus point, too, for how Teresa Taylor (aka Teresa Nervosa), one of the drummers for the Butthole Surfers, shows up. She delivers what is probably the movie's most iconic scene (see the linked video).
 

 

[Beltmann]

Over spring break I shared quite a few movies with my 13-year-old boy, including Airplane!, The Pride of the Yankees, 42, Ford v Ferrari, The Call of the Wild, and The Journey of Natty Gann (which, I remain persuaded, is one of the most underrated Disney live-action features). Best of all? We enjoyed a big-screen experience with The Wizard of Oz, which he had never seen before. (He always resisted my overtures, and you can't force these things.) Damn straight I lied and warned him the whole thing was black and white. And damn straight that key moment when Dorothy opens the door to Oz still has the power hold audiences rapt.

Tonight we watched the Coens' version of True Grit, which was his first Western (unless Back to the Future III counts). I think we'll try High Noon next.

[TCP]

Recently I have watched:

The Stand

-So, for any "normal" writer, the obvious thing to do with this concept would be to make a gritty story about living in a post-lethal pandemic world. And this has that. But it also has some of Stephen King's more.... bizarre stuff in it. In the first episode you're like "what? the virus is named Captain Tripps? lol wut" but by the end you'll think, all things considered, it's not that weird of a name. I've read The Dark Tower series and knew this would be connected and therefor get a little out there. I liked it! The mini series formula works way better than a 2 hour film and this made me excited for Wizard & Glass.

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

-I for one, hate the rich.

Ted Lasso

-This is a show with a lot of heart. It was funny but also sweet. Ulimately, I think it's about leadership. It felt good to watch, sort of like Parks & Rec did. I highly recommend it!

[kidsmoke]

On 4/4/2021 at 5:29 PM, Beltmann said:

A few days ago I watched Slacker for the umpteenth time because I’m reading Melissa Maerz’s book Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused and the opening section contains roughly 50 wonderfully detailed pages about Slacker, Linklater's 1991 indie breakthrough. The film, which was made for $23,000 and has no plot, captures in amber the specific misfit subculture of Austin, Texas in the Nineties. The movie always peters out for me, but I nevertheless remain fascinated by its shaggy ambience and its baton-passing structure, which lets more than 80 characters take center stage for a few minutes. This movie was a formative experience for me as a burgeoning cinephile. Has it really been 30 years?
 

Bonus point, too, for how Teresa Taylor (aka Teresa Nervosa), one of the drummers for the Butthole Surfers, shows up. She delivers what is probably the movie's most iconic scene (see the linked video).
 

 

 

Eric, I've never seen this, but this scene makes me want to! 

[Analogman]

7 hours ago, TCP said:

Recently I have watched:

The Stand

-So, for any "normal" writer, the obvious thing to do with this concept would be to make a gritty story about living in a post-lethal pandemic world. And this has that. But it also has some of Stephen King's more.... bizarre stuff in it. In the first episode you're like "what? the virus is named Captain Tripps? lol wut" but by the end you'll think, all things considered, it's not that weird of a name. I've read The Dark Tower series and knew this would be connected and therefor get a little out there. I liked it! The mini series formula works way better than a 2 hour film and this made me excited for Wizard & Glass.

 

There was a also mini-series made for TV in 1994. I think you can still find it on Youtube. 

[Chez]

On 4/4/2021 at 8:40 AM, chuckrh said:

2 piece metal band on tour (a couple) are on tour when the drummer suddenly starts to lose his hearing rapidly. He ends up at a school for the deaf & learning sign language while hoping for an operation to stop his loss. There's also an addiction element. It's on Amazon. Note: watch with subtitles as they give an additional perspective from his point of view. The flim was also nominated for best original screenplay. I thought the film was very original & not your run of the mill hollywood production. The director didn't get nominated but did write the screenplay.

I watched The Sound of Metal a few months back and loved it.  Great performances.

[uncool2pillow]

I've been watching Ramy on Hulu. Can't believe I haven't heard more about this show. It's funny, emotional, dark, weird. Good stuff!

[Chez]

Finished the Hemingway documentary on PBS (Ken Burns and Lynn Novick) and started The Imposter (Netflix). 

[Beltmann]

On 4/6/2021 at 12:55 PM, Chez said:

I watched The Sound of Metal a few months back and loved it.  Great performances.

 

I managed to see six of the eight Best Picture nominees in the theater and I wish Sound of Metal had been one of 'em. The sound design is remarkable and I would have loved being lost in that soundscape, captive and concentrated. Just today I was reading about how the sound designer created a device that could capture the sounds of Riz Ahmed's body (such as his swallowing and his heart beating and his lips smacking). Those sounds were then carefully layered into the auditory texture to enhance the sense of being totally inside Ruben's head, even hearing his own body vibrationally, the way a person does from inside-out.

I've seen the movie twice, most recently a few days ago after my 13-year-old son asked to see some of the Best Picture nominees. His usual viewing diet consists of, say, Jurassic Park and Spongebob, so I leaped at the chance to share some alternative fare. He is a very sensitive and empathetic boy, so he was completely gripped by the story and Ahmed's performance. He liked it a lot, but to my surprise he said that he liked Nomadland even more! Along with Minari, those were the only nominees that I felt were age-appropriate for him (every kid is different).

[Boss_Tweedy]

 

Unfortunately like the movie around which the story centers I found it to be overrated. It pains me to admit that because I love Gary Oldman. 

[Chez]

I recently watched "Judas & The Black Messiah."  Highly recommended.  

[calvino]

My 12 year decided he was ready to watch  Stranger Things --- we tried about 6 months ago and he lasted to the scene where Will crashed his bike in the woods and he told us we could turn it off. We just finished Season one and it has been a blast watching it. The wife and I have already watched all three season -- the show definitely holds up the 2nd time around. 

 

Yesterday I got home from work and there were three gas company trucks parked out in front our house, my wife told me they have been out there the whole day and the workers never left their trucks for the entire 8 hours  - in fairness it was raining and it looked like they were going to lay some underground tubing --- anyway I told my wife, "maybe they are like the Hawkin's power and light company and they are out there spying on us" --- rolling her eyes, my wife told me that was exactly what the kid said a few hours before. Must admit, the kid made me proud --- sometimes it's the little (stranger) things.

 

[sonicshoulder]

I've watched Do The Right Thing twice in the last month. It's a modern masterpiece. Beyond the  just ridiculously talented (mostly young) cast the story is eerily relevant and the set is just really colorful and vibrant. It is a visually pleasing movie (or joint as Spike would say) with great characters and performances. 

[chuckrh]

[Beltmann]

BAD REPUTATION / dir. Kevin Kerslake, USA, 2018

HOW TO BUILD A GIRL / dir. Coky Giedroyc, UK, 2018

 

I’m rather allergic to overly celebratory nonfiction biographies that seem like Wikipedia entries with video clips, but what the hell: I enjoyed “Bad Reputation” because I like Joan Jett and I, um, love rock ‘n’ roll. Speaking of music, I also had mixed feelings about the coming-of-age comedy “How to Build a Girl,” but Beanie Feldstein’s performance as teen rock journalist Johanna Morrigan contains multitudes. By turns she is a mouse, a chameleon, and a circus ringleader, and always we can see the authentic Johanna underneath, striving to emerge.
 

[Beltmann]

On 4/29/2021 at 1:54 PM, sonicshoulder said:

I've watched Do The Right Thing twice in the last month. It's a modern masterpiece.

I don't know how many times I've seen Do the Right Thing since 1989--I teach it most semesters--but my admiration only continues to deepen. I think it's an enduring American classic that, unfortunately, has lost none of its cultural urgency.

[Atticus]

Mare of Easttown is as good a show as anything I’ve seen in years.