All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

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short ornery norwegian said:
so, the Bob Dylan biopic is coming out soon. the script is based on a non-fiction book titled "Dylan Goes Electric" by Elijah Wald.

I ran across an interview with Wald. He has seen the movie, and he had some interesting comments. according to Wald, the movie somewhat follows the basic structure of the book - showing how Dylan interacted with people from the Folk music scene - but he says the movie takes a lot of liberties with the facts.

"They say that the film is based on my book,” says Wald. “But the film has virtually nothing in it that’s from my book. There are hundreds of moments [in the film] that didn’t happen. The film is fiction.”

But Wald says he does like the movie.

“I liked it a lot,” said Wald. “My book isn’t fiction; the movie is. It’s not historically accurate, but it’s poetically accurate. In the movie, I think it’s the first time anyone framed that whole history of Dylan and Seeger and that they took from the book. They had Dylan’s normal personal relationship with Van Ronk, his hanging out with all these people in the Village and he really captured Seeger in a more professional context.”
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I saw A Complete Unknown. Spoiler Alert, things work out all right for Bobby Z from Minneapolis.

I thought it was great, both the story and the music. Really great set design. Just how I imagine the Village in the early 60s to be.

How they pulled off the song performances, live to tape with actors not known for music chops was just an unbelievable achievement. Had to be over 50 songs referenced.
 

Since I watched Anora and enjoyed it, thought another Sean Baker movie might be worthwhile. Seen Starlet, starring Dree Hemingway. Baker likes to do movies about sex workers. Evidently that is where he gets his story lines from. The movie is okay. Did notice that Karren Karagulian was also in this one. He played Toros in Anora. He looks to be in a few of the Baker films.
235,000 dollar budget on this movie.
Anora had kind of a "Pretty Woman" feel and this one reminds me just a little of Harold and Maude.
 



Ope3 said:
I saw A Complete Unknown. Spoiler Alert, things work out all right for Bobby Z from Minneapolis.
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Hibbing, a Bluejacket.

Are you sure you’re not from Eau Claire?

My uncle, Terry bought Bob’s childhood home from his parents and his wife, Angel, met Bob once when he stopped by his childhood home to reminiscence.

Bob was sitting in a strange car, staring at the house, and Angel, was naturally bothered by it after a while and like any good Ranger, went to find out what the heck was going on. He naturally apologized, like a good Ranger and then she insisted become in for coffee, so he could enjoy the inside of his childhood abode, as well. He was a great guy and Angel became a fan.

Ope3 said:
I thought it was great, both the story and the music. Really great set design. Just how I imagine the Village in the early 60s to be.

How they pulled off the song performances, live to tape with actors not known for music chops was just an unbelievable achievement. Had to be over 50 songs referenced.
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Glad you enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to seeing it as well.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Hibbing, a Bluejacket.

Are you sure you’re not from Eau Claire?
My uncle, Terry bought Bob’s childhood home from his parents and his wife, Angel, met Bob once when he stopped by his childhood home to reminiscence.

Bob was sitting in a strange car, staring at the house, and Angel, was naturally bothered by it after a while and like any good Ranger, went to find out what the heck was going on. He naturally apologized, like a good Ranger and then she insisted become in for coffee, so he could enjoy the inside of his childhood abode, as well. He was a great guy and Angel became a fan.
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I hate to nitpick, but this sounds very, very FAR from behavior from "any good Ranger". The folks on the Range are not, like NOT very welcoming to outsiders; you're considered a "packsacker" until you've lived there at least 20 years and will typically be rude and standoffish to anyone they don't recognize as local.

I always wished Zimmy's had better food; they for the most part relied on their name and history and kind of said f*ck it about everything else. Good place to get a beer, not much past that though.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Hibbing, a Bluejacket.

Are you sure you’re not from Eau Claire?

My uncle, Terry bought Bob’s childhood home from his parents and his wife, Angel, met Bob once when he stopped by his childhood home to reminiscence.

Bob was sitting in a strange car, staring at the house, and Angel, was naturally bothered by it after a while and like any good Ranger, went to find out what the heck was going on. He naturally apologized, like a good Ranger and then she insisted become in for coffee, so he could enjoy the inside of his childhood abode, as well. He was a great guy and Angel became a fan.



Glad you enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to seeing it as well.
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Cool connection.

The movie starts with his arrival in Greenwich Village, just after his time in Minneapolis (Dinkytown), so that is what is referenced in the film.

There's not really anything about his time on the Range except for a scrapbook his parents sent to "Bobby Zimmerman" in NYC. There's also a quick blink and you'll miss it shout out to the Minnesota Gophers.

Hibbing will have to wait for the life and times of Kevin McHale to get their cinematic spotlight.
 
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Ope3 said:
Cool connection.

The movie starts with his arrival in Greenwich Village, just after his time in Minneapolis (Dinkytown), so that is what is referenced in the film.
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👍
Ope3 said:
There's not really anything about his time on the Range except for a scrapbook his parents sent to "Bobby Zimmerman" in NYC.
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Makes sense.
Ope3 said:
There's also a quick blink and you'll miss it shout out to the Minnesota Gophers.
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Nice.
Ope3 said:
Hibbing will have to wait for the life and times of Kevin McHale to get their cinematic spotlight.
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Would love to see a movie about the iron ore mines and how they helped build America and the men who worked in those pits; my grandfather, uncle and brother did.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Would love to see a movie about the iron ore mines and how they helped build America and the men who worked in those pits; my grandfather, uncle and brother did.
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Check out "North Country" with Charlize Theron. It's a real eye-opener if you want to learn more about Rangers and how they're wired. Not very flattering for those folks, but it's a true story. A lot of it was filmed up there and there are a fair amount of locals who were extras in the film
 

Watched The Order starring Jude Law. Good movie, but also bleak and depressing. Setting is the Pacific Northwest. FBI chasing down a white supremacist group. Says it's based on a true story.
 

Ope3 said:
I saw A Complete Unknown. Spoiler Alert, things work out all right for Bobby Z from Minneapolis.

I thought it was great, both the story and the music. Really great set design. Just how I imagine the Village in the early 60s to be.

How they pulled off the song performances, live to tape with actors not known for music chops was just an unbelievable achievement. Had to be over 50 songs referenced.
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Ope, an inquiry-do you think a 7 year old would be an appropriate audience for the movie? Would it be compelling enough for a kid who likes songs or might it drag along? I am formulating this romanticized version of my boy looking back fondly in his adult years about seeing the Dylan movie with his old man as a kid, but I also don’t want to have to leave the theater after 30 minutes for one reason or another.
 



coolhandgopher said:
Ope, an inquiry-do you think a 7 year old would be an appropriate audience for the movie? Would it be compelling enough for a kid who likes songs or might it drag along? I am formulating this romanticized version of my boy looking back fondly in his adult years about seeing the Dylan movie with his old man as a kid, but I also don’t want to have to leave the theater after 30 minutes for one reason or another.
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It's rated R and I can't for the life of me figure out why. It seemed pretty mild, for even PG-13 standards.

Pretty much all the romantic overtones are implied, nothing graphic, as is the drug use. Loads of cigarette smoking, and even sort of a plot device between some of the music legends. Only few big time curse words.

There are some complex issues about what was going on in the world at the time with the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK's assassination & Civil Rights that might fly over a 7 year old's head.

7 might be a little on the young side to "get it", but if there is any remote interest in that type of music, or really music in general I would say go for it.

I was 11 (brother 9) when my parent's took us to see Coal Miner's Daughter, which I think was much more "adult themed", even though that was PG. I'm sure it had some affect on defining our taste for impactful music. Ditto for the The Buddy Holly Story which was a few years prior.
 

coolhandgopher said:
Ope, an inquiry-do you think a 7 year old would be an appropriate audience for the movie? Would it be compelling enough for a kid who likes songs or might it drag along? I am formulating this romanticized version of my boy looking back fondly in his adult years about seeing the Dylan movie with his old man as a kid, but I also don’t want to have to leave the theater after 30 minutes for one reason or another.
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I saw it and thought it was really good. My 16 year old daughter fell asleep if that tells you anything...
 

Watched another Sean Baker movie titled Tangerine. 100,000 budget. Very good movie based on a sex worker upset about being cheated on. Everything takes place in the space of one day on the streets of Los Angeles. Was really funny.
 

coolhandgopher said:
Ope, an inquiry-do you think a 7 year old would be an appropriate audience for the movie? Would it be compelling enough for a kid who likes songs or might it drag along? I am formulating this romanticized version of my boy looking back fondly in his adult years about seeing the Dylan movie with his old man as a kid, but I also don’t want to have to leave the theater after 30 minutes for one reason or another.
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There's a drunk parking scene, but it's great.
 

Ope3 said:
It's rated R and I can't for the life of me figure out why. It seemed pretty mild, for even PG-13 standards.

Pretty much all the romantic overtones are implied, nothing graphic, as is the drug use. Loads of cigarette smoking, and even sort of a plot device between some of the music legends. Only few big time curse words.

There are some complex issues about what was going on in the world at the time with the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK's assassination & Civil Rights that might fly over a 7 year old's head.

7 might be a little on the young side to "get it", but if there is any remote interest in that type of music, or really music in general I would say go for it.

I was 11 (brother 9) when my parent's took us to see Coal Miner's Daughter, which I think was much more "adult themed", even though that was PG. I'm sure it had some affect on defining our taste for impactful music. Ditto for the The Buddy Holly Story which was a few years prior.
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I saw the R rating, then read through IMDB’s overview and it seemed everything potentially worrisome was marked mild, so I am leaning towards taking him to it-he will be able to zone in on all the bad words and cigarette smoking to let me know they are inappropriate. Was driving along the other day listening to A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders and it was like I had Tipper Gore in the backseat 😉
 

coolhandgopher said:
Was driving along the other day listening to A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders and it was like I had Tipper Gore in the backseat 😉
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I finally had a to retire my black Parental Advisory T-shirt, after 30+ years. I'm on the hunt for a replacement.

Screenshot_20241227-211139.png
 
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coolhandgopher said:
I saw the R rating, then read through IMDB’s overview and it seemed everything potentially worrisome was marked mild, so I am leaning towards taking him to it-he will be able to zone in on all the bad words and cigarette smoking to let me know they are inappropriate.
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I sort of think the producers/studio wanted A Complete Unknown to be R rated. Perhaps they are trying to attract more adults, even though in terms of content, it's pretty tame.
 

Watched The Return starring Ralph Fiennes. Didn't care for it. Wasn't expecingt it to be some masterpiece, but thought it fell short of being even entertaining.
 


Ope3 said:
I sort of think the producers/studio wanted A Complete Unknown to be R rated. Perhaps they are trying to attract more adults, even though in terms of content, it's pretty tame.
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So, today I took my boy to see A Complete Unknown and I'll start with stating that was the tamest R rated movie I've ever seen, unless casual and frequent cigarette smoking now elicits such a rating. As you surmise, seems as if the studio may have pushed for it?, but no idea why a PG-13 rating would not have served similar purposes. Oh well. . .

I'm proud to say my boy stuck it out for the full 2 hour, 21 minutes, although it was a tough hang in between the musical performances. I thought we'd have the theatre to ourselves for an early matinee on a Tuesday, but there were a lot of seniors in the crowd (our whole row was full) due to the Tuesday discount rate, so unfortunately I wasn't able to answer all his questions (and there were a lot), but I hope it'll stick somewhere in the head as a pleasant memory as he gets older.

As for the movie, I enjoyed it a lot, even with the liberties taken with some of the historical accuracy. Chamalet and Norton were really good and hey, anytime Johnny Cash can be prominently worked into a storyline, I'm not going to complain. I've waned on listening to Dylan in recent years, not for any reason other than kids/listening to other music, but it certainly fired up the love for Dylan's music, particularly from that time period. Highway 61 Revisited was cranked on the drive home and a revisiting of the catalog is due.
 

coolhandgopher said:
So, today I took my boy to see A Complete Unknown and I'll start with stating that was the tamest R rated movie I've ever seen, unless casual and frequent cigarette smoking now elicits such a rating. As you surmise, seems as if the studio may have pushed for it?, but no idea why a PG-13 rating would not have served similar purposes. Oh well. . .

I'm proud to say my boy stuck it out for the full 2 hour, 21 minutes, although it was a tough hang in between the musical performances. I thought we'd have the theatre to ourselves for an early matinee on a Tuesday, but there were a lot of seniors in the crowd (our whole row was full) due to the Tuesday discount rate, so unfortunately I wasn't able to answer all his questions (and there were a lot), but I hope it'll stick somewhere in the head as a pleasant memory as he gets older.

As for the movie, I enjoyed it a lot, even with the liberties taken with some of the historical accuracy. Chamalet and Norton were really good and hey, anytime Johnny Cash can be prominently worked into a storyline, I'm not going to complain. I've waned on listening to Dylan in recent years, not for any reason other than kids/listening to other music, but it certainly fired up the love for Dylan's music, particularly from that time period. Highway 61 Revisited was cranked on the drive home and a revisiting of the catalog is due.
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I appreciate you taking the time for an in-depth review, cool; as always, greatly appreciated. I was never a big Dylan fan but lived on the Range for 4 years (wowzers!!) and am still largely a MN "homer" as far as pride in such things.

I'm going to make an effort to get to see this if at all possible.
 

coolhandgopher said:
So, today I took my boy to see A Complete Unknown and I'll start with stating that was the tamest R rated movie I've ever seen, unless casual and frequent cigarette smoking now elicits such a rating. As you surmise, seems as if the studio may have pushed for it?, but no idea why a PG-13 rating would not have served similar purposes. Oh well. . .

I'm proud to say my boy stuck it out for the full 2 hour, 21 minutes, although it was a tough hang in between the musical performances. I thought we'd have the theatre to ourselves for an early matinee on a Tuesday, but there were a lot of seniors in the crowd (our whole row was full) due to the Tuesday discount rate, so unfortunately I wasn't able to answer all his questions (and there were a lot), but I hope it'll stick somewhere in the head as a pleasant memory as he gets older.

As for the movie, I enjoyed it a lot, even with the liberties taken with some of the historical accuracy. Chamalet and Norton were really good and hey, anytime Johnny Cash can be prominently worked into a storyline, I'm not going to complain. I've waned on listening to Dylan in recent years, not for any reason other than kids/listening to other music, but it certainly fired up the love for Dylan's music, particularly from that time period. Highway 61 Revisited was cranked on the drive home and a revisiting of the catalog is due.
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I'm relieved my assessment of the tame R rating rang true. I don't want to be tagged with corrupting Coolhand Jr on my conscience.

I think the only real historical liberty I took issue with was Cash being at Newport '65 and directly influencing the events of Dylan's performance. It's a minor nit-pick, just a bit over the top IMO.
 

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