All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

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Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I thought there would be more discussion on The Last Dance. I started watching it but I think I'm only through the 4th installment. I really like it so far, it's just not the first thing I think of pulling up when I sit down in the chair to watch some TV. The length of it feels daunting for some reason.

I did manage to get through the 2 part 30 for 30 "Lance" over the weekend. I'm still torn on the whole issue with Lance Armstrong. Someone in the doc used the phrase, I forget exactly but something like, the line is so blurred between good people that do bad things and bad people that do good things.

Lance clearly did so much WRONG and was an asshole to so many people but on the flip side, what he did pretty much everyone in cycling was doing and it's just hard for me to get past all the GOOD that he accomplished with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and LiveStrong. He has literally helped millions and millions of cancer patients all over the world.

The documentary really doesn't make an attempt, at least it seems to me, to paint him one way or the other; they did a good job of talking to people who would say good things and also some people who would never say good things. It was well presented on both sides for you to draw your own opinion
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Agreed. That is a very well way to put it. He's a jerk but he did a lot of good as well.

I enjoyed the inside look of The Last Dance. Lots of behind the scenes stuff. I did read many of Jordan's teammates are not happy with it the documentary however, including Pippen and Grant.
 


I just saw that Joel Schumacher passed away recently. Time for dead guy theatre. I'm going with "Falling Down," which I consider his best by head and shoulders. What say you all?
 

Bad Gopher said:
I just saw that Joel Schumacher passed away recently. Time for dead guy theatre. I'm going with "Falling Down," which I consider his best by head and shoulders. What say you all?
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Never saw "Falling Down." of the Schumacher movies I saw, I would say "Flatliners" was my favorite.

The one he did of the Grisham book, "A Time to Kill" was OK.

But, among genre fans, he will live in infamy for directing the two 'Batman' movies and taking the series in a camp direction.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Never saw "Falling Down." of the Schumacher movies I saw, I would say "Flatliners" was my favorite.

The one he did of the Grisham book, "A Time to Kill" was OK.

But, among genre fans, he will live in infamy for directing the two 'Batman' movies and taking the series in a camp direction.
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Yep, all I could think of when I saw the news about his death was Bat Nipples.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
Never saw "Falling Down." of the Schumacher movies I saw, I would say "Flatliners" was my favorite.

The one he did of the Grisham book, "A Time to Kill" was OK.

But, among genre fans, he will live in infamy for directing the two 'Batman' movies and taking the series in a camp direction.
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Strange, I've always considered Flatliners his worst: great story idea but badly executed and overwrought. Never was quite sure whether to blame the screenwriter or the director, but I'm sure there's plenty of blame to go around.

The one I never saw but really need to is St. Elmo's Fire. That should be required viewing for a late-stage boomer or elder Gen-Xer (me). That's probably the film he's known best for.

I will not lie: Schumacher is not one of my favorite directors, but Falling Down is one of my favorite films. Doesn't hurt that one of my favorite actors (Robert Duvall) pulls his usual and steals the show.
 







Over the weekend I watched a couple of movies I have had on my DVR for well over 2 years (at least).

Bad News Bears (2005) - As a Richard Linklater fan, this was one of the few movies of his that I had not watched. It's all right, my one thought though was...why did this movie need to get made? Isn't the original just fine. It's pretty faithful to the first one and has some laughs. The kid that plays Tanner Boyle is a dead ringer for the original. The Kelly Leaks character seems out of place, about to go to college while the others are still in Little League. Fine job by the Amanda (Sammi Kane Kraft), she looks like she bring the heat. She was a much better hurler than the kid in Dazed & Confused, the one that looked like Tim Lincecum. That kid looked like he was not sure if he was a righty or lefty. I laughed at Roger Ebert's review that compared the Billy Bob Thornton character to a cross between his Bad Santa & Friday Night Lights roles.

Other thoughts, Greg Kinnear is brutal as the coach of the rival Yankees. Just cartoonish. I liked the callback to Chico's Bail Bonds. I guess the poor box office results precluded Linklater to taking the Bears to the Houston AstroDome/Minute Maid Park and later Japan. He did a much better job with comedic kids in School of Rock.

Footnote, sadly, I learned on IMBD that Ms Kraft died in a car crash, circa 2012.

Taking Woodstock (2009) - Again, all right. I thought there would be more Woodstock era music and performances (which there are none). Still an interesting tale/fable of how it all came together on Yasgur's Farm. Max is a minor character, played by Eugene Levy, the SCTV legend showed he could handle a dramatic role. Ebert gave this one 3 stars which would be a "thumbs up". Probably more of a 2.5 for me.
 

Ope3 said:
Over the weekend I watched a couple of movies I have had on my DVR for well over 2 years (at least).

Bad News Bears (2005) - As a Richard Linklater fan, this was one of the few movies of his that I had not watched. It's all right, my one thought though was...why did this movie need to get made? Isn't the original just fine. It's pretty faithful to the first one and has some laughs. The kid that plays Tanner Boyle is a dead ringer for the original. The Kelly Leaks character seems out of place, about to go to college while the others are still in Little League. Fine job by the Amanda (Sammi Kane Kraft), she looks like she bring the heat. She was a much better hurler than the kid in Dazed & Confused, the one that looked like Tim Lincecum. That kid looked like he was not sure if he was a righty or lefty. I laughed at Roger Ebert's review that compared the Billy Bob Thornton character to a cross between his Bad Santa & Friday Night Lights roles.

Other thoughts, Greg Kinnear is brutal as the coach of the rival Yankees. Just cartoonish. I liked the callback to Chico's Bail Bonds. I guess the poor box office results precluded Linklater to taking the Bears to the Houston AstroDome/Minute Maid Park and later Japan. He did a much better job with comedic kids in School of Rock.

Footnote, sadly, I learned on IMBD that Ms Kraft died in a car crash, circa 2012.

Taking Woodstock (2009) - Again, all right. I thought there would be more Woodstock era music and performances (which there are none). Still an interesting tale/fable of how it all came together on Yasgur's Farm. Max is a minor character, played by Eugene Levy, the SCTV legend showed he could handle a dramatic role. Ebert gave this one 3 stars which would be a "thumbs up". Probably more of a 2.5 for me.
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I completely forgot that Linklater did Bad News Bears. Big fan of his but didn't see this one due to the first being a masterpiece.

I hated Taking Woodstock but don't remember why exactly. I will give it another chance.
 



tikited said:
I completely forgot that Linklater did Bad News Bears. Big fan of his but didn't see this one due to the first being a masterpiece.

I hated Taking Woodstock but don't remember why exactly. I will give it another chance.
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If you have seen Taking Woodstock once, I don't think you need to revisit, especially if you were not that big on it the first time. I was lukewarm at best.
 

tikited said:
I completely forgot that Linklater did Bad News Bears. Big fan of his but didn't see this one due to the first being a masterpiece.

I hated Taking Woodstock but don't remember why exactly. I will give it another chance.
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If you are a baseball fan and like Linklater, I'd say Bad News Bears is worth checking out. It's clear from this movie as well as Dazed & Confused and Everbody Wants Some, he loves baseball and knows how to shoot it. Lots of baseball scenes, and they have a real game feel.

He also lucked out in Boyhood when filming at Minute Maid Park during a real Astro's game, someone hit a real dinger. In high school he was coached by Chuck Knoblauch's old man and was good enough to play some D1 college ball at Sam Houston St.
 

Ope3 said:
If you are a baseball fan and like Linklater, I'd say Bad News Bears is worth checking out. It's clear from this movie as well as Dazed & Confused and Everbody Wants Some, he loves baseball and knows how to shoot it. Lots of baseball scenes, and they have a real game feel.

He also lucked out in Boyhood when filming at Minute Maid Park during a real Astro's game, someone hit a real dinger. In high school he was coached by Chuck Knoblauch's old man and was good enough to play some D1 college ball at Sam Houston St.
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Yep it's pretty obvious he loves baseball. There is a good interview somewhere where he explains his love for it. Heard it a few years ago on Youtube.
 

tikited said:
Yep it's pretty obvious he loves baseball. There is a good interview somewhere where he explains his love for it. Heard it a few years ago on Youtube.
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I am pretty sure I saw the same interview as that is what prompted me to DVR this version of the Bad News Bears in the first place, it just took me a while to watch it.

Additional side note on baseball, that all knowing Google sent me an article last night about "7 Essential" Richard Linklater scenes (freaky that it was after my original post on this). One was the Dazed & Confused baseball scene. The studio wanted him to cut it from the filming schedule, due to expenses. Even though it was his first studio film, he went to the mat to keep it in. Had to be super frustrating for the director to find out the actor (Wiley Wiggins) playing Mitch completely lied about having any athletic ability. Anyway he made it work.

I totally admire his career arc, staying pretty much in Austin and essentially staying away from cash grabs. Ironic that Bad News Bears was one of those few, but I am guessing his reverence for the original and the sport swayed him to take a swing at this one.

In baseball vernacular for Bad News Bears, I would say he reached base on a fielder's choice while driving in a runner from 3rd.
 
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Ope3 said:
Over the weekend I watched a couple of movies I have had on my DVR for well over 2 years (at least).

Bad News Bears (2005) - As a Richard Linklater fan, this was one of the few movies of his that I had not watched. It's all right, my one thought though was...why did this movie need to get made? Isn't the original just fine. It's pretty faithful to the first one and has some laughs. The kid that plays Tanner Boyle is a dead ringer for the original. The Kelly Leaks character seems out of place, about to go to college while the others are still in Little League. Fine job by the Amanda (Sammi Kane Kraft), she looks like she bring the heat. She was a much better hurler than the kid in Dazed & Confused, the one that looked like Tim Lincecum. That kid looked like he was not sure if he was a righty or lefty. I laughed at Roger Ebert's review that compared the Billy Bob Thornton character to a cross between his Bad Santa & Friday Night Lights roles.

Other thoughts, Greg Kinnear is brutal as the coach of the rival Yankees. Just cartoonish. I liked the callback to Chico's Bail Bonds. I guess the poor box office results precluded Linklater to taking the Bears to the Houston AstroDome/Minute Maid Park and later Japan. He did a much better job with comedic kids in School of Rock.

Footnote, sadly, I learned on IMBD that Ms Kraft died in a car crash, circa 2012.

Taking Woodstock (2009) - Again, all right. I thought there would be more Woodstock era music and performances (which there are none). Still an interesting tale/fable of how it all came together on Yasgur's Farm. Max is a minor character, played by Eugene Levy, the SCTV legend showed he could handle a dramatic role. Ebert gave this one 3 stars which would be a "thumbs up". Probably more of a 2.5 for me.
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She unfortunately died in a car crash back in 2012. I think she was just 19 or 20.

I also just realized that the kid that's in a wheelchair in the new Bad News Bears is the same actor that plays Barry in The Golbergs show. I had no idea.
 


Bad Gopher said:
I just saw that Joel Schumacher passed away recently. Time for dead guy theatre. I'm going with "Falling Down," which I consider his best by head and shoulders. What say you all?
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Sorry, but gotta be A Time to Kill.

YES THEY DESERVED TO DIE AND I HOPE THEY BURN IN HELLLLL !!!!

 

Knives Out is as good as it was hyped up to be. Really impressed.

A movie that I had no thoughts on.....and quite frankly.....one that I forgot was made appeared on HBO. Doctor Sleep. The (semi) sequel to The Shining. I was extremely impressed. Really, really good.
 

Couple of favorites.

DARK which is complete now at season 3 and is dubbed from German. Time travel, parrallel worlds. Have to binge watch otherwise tracking characters at 3-4 different ages/time streams is a little tedious, thought the finale was decent.

Really liked the documentary: The Pharmacist. About a pharmacist who loses a kid to opioid overdose and eventually helps turn in a pill mill doctor in New Orleans.
 

I just re-watched "That Thing You Do!" for the first time in 20 years, it holds up well. If one is looking for a 2 hr escape, can't do wrong with this one. I was prompted to check it out yesterday after hearing a discussion and comparison with Almost Famous on yesterday's Tony Kornheiser podcast. I like them both just fine, but clearly Almost Famous is much more of a "classic".

Random things I thought about while watching yesterday:

> Band members are named Mattingly & Haise as a nod to Apollo 13 astronauts

> Fun to see lots of actors that Hanks has a connection with
- Wife Rita plays a waitress
- Bosom Buddies co-star Peter Scolari plays a TV host
- Bryan Cranston plays Gus Grisom (would be in From the Earth to the Moon)
- Clint Howard plays a DJ
- Chris Isaak plays a producer (would also later be in From the Earth to the Moon)

> I would have thought this would have set him up as a solid director with at least a dozen feature credits by now, but I suppose his shift to focus on HBO mini-series along with other acting projects has precluded that. Seems to be working out.

> I think every song was an original (even the ones from other artists they toured with and those played on the radio), yet they felt like they were plucked from an AM-Radio hits station.

> The fictional Play Tone label became a real thing putting out soundtracks from Hanks/Wilson's production companies. I think someone mentioned that in the Soundtrack thread.

> Charlize Theron, small debut role but Hanks knew a STAR when he saw one.
 
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Finally found some time to sit down and watch Parasite.....without any distractions. Subtitles demand a little more attention.

Definitely understand why it received so much acclaim. I really liked it. I think that knowing almost nothing about it going in was helpful.
 

stocker08 said:
Definitely understand why it received so much acclaim. I really liked it. I think that knowing almost nothing about it going in was helpful.
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Agree, on all of that. Great movie and I was better off knowing zilch about it. Once I saw it, I was rooting for it to take Best Picture. It was my favorite movie (rarely does that win), plus I ran the table in my office Oscar pool.

Right now it holds the destination of the last movie I saw in a theater.
 

Thought I mentioned this already, but don't see it. Epix put out a great two part series on Laurel Canyon. It is still on OnDemand. Loved it.
 





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