All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

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Ope3 said:
I took in The Iron Claw today, and my review is favorable. They recreated the late 70s - 80s era quite well and is augmented by soundtrack.

I enjoyed seeing Maura Tierney as momma von Erich. Zac Efron is solid as is the entire family.

Not many laughs.

Some of the wrestling and training scenes were so well done that it has a documentary feel. As good as The Wrestler in that aspect.
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Finally watched The Iron Claw. That is a lot of tragedy. Zac Efron really put forth great effort to look like that.
 


Ope3 said:
Same with Jeremy Allen White. They looked the part.
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In reading a little about the family there was a younger one also that didn’t appear in the movie. He died at the age of 21
Wonder why they didn’t write him in?
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
In reading a little about the family there was a younger one also that didn’t appear in the movie. He died at the age of 21
Wonder why they didn’t write him in?
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I read they made a decision to kind of combine the younger 2 brothers into 1 character in order to streamline the plot.
 



Ope3 said:
Paul Giamatti won Golden Globe fo Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, no argument there. I do think that Cillian Murphy who won in Drama is the hands down favorite for the Oscar.
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Spent President’s Day with a double dip.

Oppenheimer, which I said was okay, as I would pause every 45 minutes to do something productive- that lasted one pause, it was simply too good and zi was transfixed.

Holdovers for the nightcap and Paul l’s nuanced annoyed subtly is a treat - reminded me of an updated version of Scent of a Woman - hoo haw.
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
Spent President’s Day with a double dip.

Oppenheimer, which I said was okay, as I would pause every 45 minutes to do something productive- that lasted one pause, it was simply too good and zi was transfixed.

Holdovers for the nightcap and Paul l’s nuanced annoyed subtly is a treat - reminded me of an updated version of Scent of a Woman - hoo haw.
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I think the Giamatti comp with Pacino is a good one.

As far as the Murphy vs Giamatti Oscar handicap, the BAFTA went to Murphy. That's a likely harbinger.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Spent President’s Day with a double dip.

Oppenheimer, which I said was okay, as I would pause every 45 minutes to do something productive- that lasted one pause, it was simply too good and zi was transfixed.

Holdovers for the nightcap and Paul l’s nuanced annoyed subtly is a treat - reminded me of an updated version of Scent of a Woman - hoo haw.
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For those that got Peacock for the Gophers game, Oppenheimer is now streaming there. We're going to watch it before we cancel.
 




Ope3 said:
I took in The Iron Claw today, and my review is favorable. They recreated the late 70s - 80s era quite well and is augmented by soundtrack.

I enjoyed seeing Maura Tierney as momma von Erich. Zac Efron is solid as is the entire family.

Not many laughs.

Some of the wrestling and training scenes were so well done that it has a documentary feel. As good as The Wrestler in that aspect.
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Good movie. They definitely took a few liberties with the real story but the overall theme of family curse/tragedy was right on.
 

GophersInIowa said:
For those that got Peacock for the Gophers game, Oppenheimer is now streaming there. We're going to watch it before we cancel.
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Yep exactly.

Started it a few nights ago. Can do 1hr chunks. Have not finished. There are definitely some interesting parts but overall it has been a slog. Don’t get me wrong, incredible acting, filming, etc etc

As we all know, those kinds of things don’t necessarily translate to top entertainment.
 
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MplsGopher said:
Yep exactly.

Started it a few nights ago. Can do 1hr chunks. Have not finished. There are definitely some interesting parts but overall it has been a slog. Don’t get me wrong, incredible action, filming, etc etc

As we all know, those kinds of things don’t necessarily translate to top entertainment.
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I thought Oppenheimer was anything but a "slog".

I thought the three hours just flew by, perhaps there is some difference because I saw the movie as it was intended on an IMAX screen. I was riveted throughout.
 



Ope3 said:
I thought Oppenheimer was anything but a "slog".

I thought the three hours just flew by, perhaps there is some difference because I saw the movie as it was intended on an IMAX screen. I was riveted throughout.
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The technical bits are interesting.

All the crap about communism witch hunting and the politics/in-fighting of the various sites and personalities is dreadfully boring.

We’re at one of those parts, before they have a bomb. So hopefully it gets interesting again as they get closer towards test detonation and the grave concern of if the theory would hold that the atmosphere would not ignite and destroy the world.
 

MplsGopher said:
Yep exactly.

Started it a few nights ago. Can do 1hr chunks. Have not finished. There are definitely some interesting parts but overall it has been a slog. Don’t get me wrong, incredible acting, filming, etc etc

As we all know, those kinds of things don’t necessarily translate to top entertainment.
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I thought the middle 1/3 of the movie was fantastic. The portion which the Manhattan Project was being put together and the work done. The first and last 30-40 minutes of the film were just kinda ok.

I thought they missed out on a golden opportunity to have a memorable "Day After" type scene (obviously with much superior special effects) but they chose to minimize the actual event and keep the focus on the man himself.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Had the day off yesterday so decided to watch Leave the World Behind on netflix. The reviews were so-so but I enjoyed it. Starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali. Kevin Bacon makes an appearance.

Based on the book (which I have not read) about an apocalyptic cyber-attack situation.
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Phone outages across the country including mine. It's happening...
 



Over the weekend I took in Perfect Days which is up for Best Foreign Language Film in the Oscars. It's an extraordinary portrait of an ordinary man.

It shows the daily routine of a late middle aged hardworking man who cleans Japanese public toilets in downtown Tokyo. On his lunch breaks he takes in nature of the parks amongst the trees. When he gets home, he reads. His day off is also a ritual.

Midway through he gets a visit from his niece. That's really it, in a nutshell. I loved it, one of my favorites of the decade to date.

To say the main character (Hirayama) is stuck in the analog world is an understatement. His deep affection for music never advanced beyond cassette tapes, which actually becomes a plot point as he plays them in his work van.

Hirayama's collection is wonderful and creates a stellar soundtrack of The Animals, Lou Reed/Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Otis Redding, The Kinks, Van Morrison & Nina Simone.

I hope it wins the Academy Award.
 

Ope3 said:
If I was a voter and had to rank the Best Picture Nominees, this would be my ballot:

1. Oppenheimer
2. Past Lives
3. The Holdovers
4. Anatomy of a Fall
5. American Fiction
6. Poor Things
7. Killers of the Flower Moon
8. The Zone of Interest
9. Maestro
10. Barbie

I did enjoy all 10 movies, and would have no problem if any of them won which is not always the case (last year for example).

If I were to rate them based on the 4 Star rating system I would give films ranked 1-3, four stars each. 4-8 would rate as three and half stars, and 9-10, three stars.
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Just finished Poor Things. Quite the movie. Edward Scissorhands/Frankenstein/Rocky Horror Picture Show? Thoght the acting was great.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Just finished Poor Things. Quite the movie. Edward Scissorhands/Frankenstein/Rocky Horror Picture Show? Thoght the acting was great.
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I did like an earlier movie of the director (Yorgos Lanthimos) better, The Lobster. He has a way of coaxing perhaps the best performances of their careers out of his actors.
 

Ope3 said:
I did like an earlier movie of the director (Yorgos Lanthimos) better, The Lobster. He has a way of coaxing perhaps the best performances of their careers out of his actors.
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Just thinking, maybe even some Trading Places when I was doing the Edward Scissorhands/Frankenstein/Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Not familiar with him. I kind of remember The Lobster.
The four main actors were great.
 

Ope3 said:
If I was a voter and had to rank the Best Picture Nominees, this would be my ballot:

1. Oppenheimer
2. Past Lives
3. The Holdovers
4. Anatomy of a Fall
5. American Fiction
6. Poor Things
7. Killers of the Flower Moon
8. The Zone of Interest
9. Maestro
10. Barbie

I did enjoy all 10 movies, and would have no problem if any of them won which is not always the case (last year for example).

If I were to rate them based on the 4 Star rating system I would give films ranked 1-3, four stars each. 4-8 would rate as three and half stars, and 9-10, three stars.
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Tried to give it a go on Maestro, but only lasted about 25-30 minutes. It was just after watching Oppenheimer and maybe all the cigarette smoking was getting to me. Could almost smell them. Plus that super fast talking by Cooper, which I assume is how Bernstein spoke, didn't appeal to me.
 


Watched Land of Bad. Lots of action. Russell Crowe has, well, put on a little weight. Decent movie.
 


Ope3 said:
Over the weekend I took in Perfect Days which is up for Best Foreign Language Film in the Oscars. It's an extraordinary portrait of an ordinary man.

It shows the daily routine of a late middle aged hardworking man who cleans Japanese public toilets in downtown Tokyo. On his lunch breaks he takes in nature of the parks amongst the trees. When he gets home, he reads. His day off is also a ritual.

Midway through he gets a visit from his niece. That's really it, in a nutshell. I loved it, one of my favorites of the decade to date.

To say the main character (Hirayama) is stuck in the analog world is an understatement. His deep affection for music never advanced beyond cassette tapes, which actually becomes a plot point as he plays them in his work van.

Hirayama's collection is wonderful and creates a stellar soundtrack of The Animals, Lou Reed/Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Otis Redding, The Kinks, Van Morrison & Nina Simone.

I hope it wins the Academy Award.
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Just watched it. Kind of captivating.
 



Overall, no real qualms about any of the Winners. Two categories I would have voted differently, but those that won were certainly Oscar worthy and have zero issue with:

Best Actress - That was really a toss up, but I would have given the edge to Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) instead of Emma Stone (Poor Things), but admittedly that's because Stone already has a trophy. No less deserving for this one though.

Best International Film - I liked Perfect Days better, but again the The Zone of Interest is completely worthy. I thought it was great that The Zone of Interest won for Best Sound. Usually those are doled out to big Action/Superhero movies.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Oscars: Full List of Winners

'Oppenheimer' was named best picture, while Christopher Nolan, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Billie Eilish & Finneas O'Connell are were among those taking home the gold.
www.hollywoodreporter.com www.hollywoodreporter.com

About 15 minutes into Oppenheimer I thought Cillian Murphy was destined to win Best Actor. That turned out to be true, though Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers) gave me a brief pause.

I agreed with Poor Things racking up some other Technical awards (Makeup/Hair, Costumes & Production Design). They all seemed quite innovative.

I also enjoyed seeing Anatomy of a Fall getting Best Original Screenplay.
 

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