April 20, 2024
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Review: Little Women (no spoilers)
Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree
Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)
Review: Little Women (no spoilers) - The Hot Blog
Box Office First Look - The Hot Blog
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
Geostorm looks so bad it’s good. Bummed that The Snowman (apparently) isn’t good. I love a good serial killer movie and the amazing Mindhunter only enhances the desire to see one. Cast and director are great too. Bummer. The Florida Project starts here tomorrow so might see that.
Super Dark Times is really good. Exceptionally well-acted and tense. Happy Death Day is fun for 45 minutes, but then it gets dumb even for a dumb horror movie.
I bought my ticket on Tuesday for the Saturday morning show of Geostorm. I checked today, and I am the only ticket sold so far FOR THE WHOLE WEEKEND.
I love early morning Saturday shows.
Rented Red Christmas. An excellent slasher that actually had me tearing up, I felt bad for Cletus.
Red Christmas and Better Watch Out seems like a great double feature. Will definitely be watching them both at some point.
Professor Marston is down to just one showing locally as of this weekend. Was it that bad? Or just a total lack of interest?
Ha. I wonder if I inspired the title of this post with a comment I made earlier in the Blade Runner thread. If not, a nice coincidence. Here’s a question: can someone who knows the business better than I tell me what the odds are of either another Blade Runner or another Alien film? I know they both underperformed but I believe Prometheus did too and they made another one. Also, what are the odds of Villanueve actually making Dune? What an incredible director.
@Roy – I’d say the Alien franchise is too viable and valuable not to make another film. I can’t say by when, I’d guess breaking ground in 3 years but certainly before LA sees its next Olympics.
I think Blade is done. I agree with Triple that they’ll still take another kick of the can with Alien. If they’re smart, keep the costs down and no world building bullshit about the origin of man. Stick to a tight bug hunt, in a new locale, and if you keep don’t absolutely kill all respectability in the franchise maybe you can woo Cameron back after he’s done with Avatar.
Well, there was a basterdized Blade Runner/Total Recall TV show shot in Toronto, maybe they can make a better one.
I needed a good gay movie, so I burned my annual Hulu trial on “Paris 05:59, Theo and Hugo.” It was a pretty shameless gay ripoff of 2015’s excellent “Viktoria” in structure, and opens with an eyebrow-raisingly graphic 18 minute orgy scene…..but I also found it to be one of the most romantic movies of the year! Along with the “The Bad Batch,” which falls into the classic “cannibal apocalypse romantic drama” sub-genre.
Yup, I’m single!
LUCKY is a beautiful movie about an elderly man, played by the recently deceased Harry Dean Stanton, who finds himself facing up to the idea of the end. It’s a beautiful, whimsical final performance that deserves awards attention. Why the bloggers aren’t talking about it more is mystifying. Too busy being distracted from the task by the salacious drip-drip-drip of the infotainment cycle, I guess.
“Killing of a Sacred Deer” was phenomenal. Never seen an audience react that way to a film before. It’s tough to say what the word of mouth is going to be, but I doubt that anyone who sees it won’t have a strong opinion about it.
Thank you for this post!
Killing Of A Sacred Deer is a must-see for me. Trying to stay away from spoilers on that one.
As a cautious fan of the Alien prequels I’d like to see Scott finish them. He does not need to make 2 more like he wants to. One more would bridge the gap just fine. But I also wouldn’t be opposed to a proper sequel/continuation. A “bug hunt” sounds great to me.
Not a movie but The Exorcist TV show. I enjoyed it last season and am continuing to do so this season. The leads are great, the Vatican conspiracy stuff is silly but fun, and it’s all played with conviction. John Cho is really good this season. I like it.
Someone at fox will always be working on continuing the Alien franchise. Planet of the Apes might go dormant for awhile and then pop up again from time to time, but like Batman at Warners and Bond, there will always be the next Alien installment percolating on the back burner if not in active development.
If Blade Runner returns I would think we would be looking at a remake instead of a continuation. The returns on this just aren’t there to continue the story on this scale. Alcon took a big financial risk on this, and with Warners and Sony likely grabbing up all the cash this has made with marketing and distribution fees, they might be back to concentrating on small films again.
What’s weird about the Alien franchise is how we always assume that the latter films pale against the movies that were never made. We never got to see Vincent Ward’s Alien 3, Danny Boyle’s Alien Resurrection, or Neill Blomkamps’s Alien 5. But we always presume that they would have turned out better than the movies that we did get.
THE FLORIDA PROJECT goes a little wider this weekend before a couple more expansions. Intrigued to see if the hold/expansion is as enthusiastic.
Personally I would have no faith in Blomkamp’s Alien 5 being better than either of the new Ridley’s. The ones we got did have some problems but after a big debut (which I thought was decent but overrated) Blomkamp seems to have struggled rather severely.
As for Boyle, I didn’t know he was in the running for Alien 4. Sunshine is one of my favorite space movies of this century and owes a huge debt to the claustrophobic framework set by the original Alien. But if he was still saddled with the rambunctious space pirates script and insistence for computer generated Aliens I don’t know if he could have righted the ship.
Though it would have spared us A Life Less Ordinary (I still haven’t decided whether LLO is awful or gloriously awful, he is too talented for that not to be the movie he intended, right?).
^ After CHAPPiE the less Blomkamp the better.
Two overlooked movies I enjoyed very much recently:
*MARJORIE PRIME: Yes, stagey, but thoughtful with a dynamite Louis Smith performance reprised from the play. Always a pleasure to see Geena Davis and Tim Robbins working too. And finally a meaty role for Jon Hamm.
*LADY MACBETH: Fantastic period piece that embraces realism without the boredom that usually accompanies it in these things. What a performance by Florence Pugh.
American Made – shocked how much I enjoyed it. Essentially a b-movie idea with Tom Cruise. Looked cheaply made (couldn’t tell intentional or not), but was surprised how much energy it had and was rooting for Tom Cruise by the end.
EtGuild2: Did Lois Smith have a sex change? 🙂
Totally agree re: “Lady Macbeth,” Et.
It starts out like the best movie Sally Potter never directed, then escalates into a film that begs comparison w/ the best of Jane Campion or Andrea Arnold.
And the 21-year-old (!!) Pugh!!
Wow.
Her future is so bright she should start wearing shades 24/7.
Also very much enjoyed Varda and JR’s “Faces, Places.” Ineffably charming, and definitely in the top-tier of Varda’s non-fiction films.
“Faces places” is fine as agnes love fest, but upon second viewing its just innoffensive, pleasurable nothing. Not against that, but i dont think it is superlative work. Furthermore, JR is super annoying, and after speaking woth him its pretty obvious he has nothing to actually say.
Spassky- I’ve always found Varda’s docs a tad overrated (e.g., “The Gleaners and I” or “The Beaches of Agnes”).
But I thought “Faces” was really, really lovely, and was touched by Varda and JR’s onscreen chemistry. Expected to find him annoying on the basis of the trailer (and his Banksy-esque rep), but wasn’t.
It’s shameful that Only The Brave is getting lumped in with all the schlock of this weekend. It has exciting, A-list talent behind and in front of the camera, and a super relevant look into a fresh world of heroes that hasn’t been done in this scale lately.
Essentially it’s a war movie but with no guns and the enemy is nature. Fresh take. Fantastic craftsmanship. Charismatic cast with an effortless charm and chemistry that’s palpable and a true story that’s moving and inspiring. Redefining the “you don’t need guns to be a hero” message in these times is not only commendable and thoughtful, in this film, it is heartwarming and impactful. And most people who watch it will agree, the ending doesn’t “turn you away”. It’s a powerful homage and it stays with you.
One of the fewer and fewer movies released each year that is WORTH the BIG SCREEN.
Wow movieman, I had no idea she was 21! A bright future indeed; I do hope she is more careful than our BRIGHT STAR, Abbie Cornish. I found myself rooting for her character up until the very final act, despite her actions.
@Yancy, Ms. Smith was autocorrected into a man :/
Et: That’s gotta hurt!
did anyone understand the ending of ‘never here’
Et- Pugh has a half dozen films either in the can or in production.
The most intriguing is David Mackenzie’s “Hell or High Water” follow-up w/ Chris Pine. (Which, coincidentally, is a Netflix production.)
Nobody has mentioned “The Meyerowitz Stores.”
Thought it was the best movie I’ve seen all year.
Anywhere.
Too bad it’s Netflix.
Minus that auspices, I could’ve seen it scoring–at minimum–supporting actor (Hoffman) and original screenplay Oscar noms.
add me to the chorus of meyerowitz lovers… think it should have some steam for randy newman as well, eh?
I think Elizabeth Marvel and/or Emma Thompson might have nabbed supporting actress nods as well, Spassky.
I don’t feel like Netflix can convert the Oscars just yet. MAYBE a nod for hoffman or screenplay.
I’ll be shocked–SHOCKED!–if a Netflix movie scores a single nomination in the feature film categories.
The doc branch is another story.
Look at last year’s winner, the ESPN-produced “O.J. Made in America.”
Honestly, I loved “OJ Made in America” but was perplexed how it wasn’t disqualified. Seems they cleaned that up pretty quickly. Now let’s see if they fix the Foreign Language mess…
Thank You For Your Service is a fantastic book. I’m guessing the lack of reviews three days before release means it’s another October stinker?
Oops I posted that too soon. First handful of reviews are mostly positive.