April 25, 2024
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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
youindangergirl
Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a bumpy next two years.
And then ANOTHER shooting. Grocery Store, Synagogue, Yoga studio, Bar all in the space of a few weeks directed toward African Americans, Jews, and Women. Yet the left is somehow uncivil. The right insisted on flooding the country with guns and then weaponized the stupidity of the worst aspects of their party.
Conservatives no longer maintain even the minimum of good faith. They complain about mental health being the cause of gun violence, and then they turn around and allow guns into the hands of the mentally ill. They don’t even legislate what they claim they believe in. So rather than trying to argue with or persuade them, they just need to be sent home. 2018 did that on a smaller scale. 2020 will do it on a larger one.
It’s gonna get (even) worse before it gets better.. .
We got rid of Scott Walker, and I’m still giddy about it.
Suspiria haters, you’re right. It is pretty awful. What a disappointment. Looking forward to Overlord. Has to be better.
I’m in Illinois and am happier about Walker getting booted than I am Raunier. It would have been incredible to take the Senate, though that map was brutal, but there is no way not to be positive about the big statehouse wins, especially since two more are still in play. I wouldn’t say that it feels like Morning in America, but it does feel like the Sun might still rise again.
I have seen some lackluster reviews for Fantastic Beasts, not at all surprised but since I live in a house of Potter freaks I am slightly depressed that one of the few pilgrimages to a movie house this year will be for a dud.
Aaaaaannnnd Stella’s Boy hops aboard the We Hate SUSPIRIA train.
WHO ELSE WANTS TO JUMP ON?
I saw Overlord and was thoroughly entertained. Once again, the trailers gave away too much, but there are some surprises. I’m a bit worried for its box office as I was one of 3 people in the afternoon showing.
The wife saw The Grinch instead and thought it was “cute”, but said it owed alot to the animated original.
I also caught Bohemian Rhapsody this week. I know some critics have taken the film to task for playing fast & loose with the band’s actual history. I was more puzzled by why they had songs out of order. The band performs “Fat Bottomed Girls” on their 1st US tour and before they even record ‘A Night At the Opera’? Gee that’s only 4 albums too soon.
Also, how badly do executive producers Brian May & Roger Taylor hate John Deacon? He’s the butt of almost every joke, even though he wrote their most successful single.
I’d like to point out again, that there’s no guarantee the orange doesn’t decay sooner than 2020. He just didn’t look good at that press conference. I loathe the man, but someone being that unhealthy as president… is not a good thing what so ever. I am just glad, that there is some oversight going on starting January.
Outlaw King is….interesting and often impressive, but while watching it you can’t help but wonder about the twenty minutes that Mackenzie cut from the film after TIFF. The film as it stands feels a bit like the original cut of Kingdom of Heaven – both good movies that feel abridged, like there’s a richer, longer version trying to get out. Of course Kingdom of Heaven was later restored to its full glory, but O/K being ringfenced on Netflix means that it’s unlikely to ever get the same treatment.
Too bad.
I enjoyed “Overlord,” too.
Its mix of a pulpy, near-cartoonish WW II template (shades of Tarantino’s “Basterds”) and horror tropes is good fun. And the cast is first-rate.
Wyatt Russell (from my beloved, recently renewed “Lodge 49”), Pilou Asbaek, Mathilde Olivier, Iain De Caestecker and John Magaro are all terrific.
Surprised we haven’t seen more of Jovan Adepo since his breakout role in “Fences” where he stood his ground opposite the thesping fireworks of Denzel and Viola. He’s the real deal and, for my money, more talented than fellow Brit John Boyega.
Can’t wait to see Overlord. Encouraged that people here are liking it.
I thought Outlaw King was solid. Nothing groundbreaking but it looks great and the battle scenes are pretty well-staged and brutal. In a weird way it’s like a sequel to Braveheart considering where it begins. As for the 20 minutes he cut, apparently the TIFF screening was a disaster and some who’ve seen both cuts claim the shorter one is far better. I think Indiewire covers what he cut and how the two are different.
Yeah, I spoke to a couple of people who saw “Outlaw King” at TIFF and HATED it. I was surprised by their reaction because the Variety review had been so favorable.
Hoping to watch it (and “Shirkers”) this weekend.
Pete B, I’m seeing OVERLORD at 1pm CT and so far only one other ticket has been reserved. That’s fine. Saw Fantastic Mr. Fix with my daughters in an empty theater and will never forget the experience
Rank* Title Friday
11/9
(Estimates)
1 DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH (2018)
Universal
4,141 $18,670,000
— / $4,509
$18,670,000 / 1
2 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
4,000 $8,465,000
+140% / $2,116
$77,625,548 / 8
3 OVERLORD
Paramount
2,859 $3,750,000
— / $1,312
$3,750,000 / 1
4 THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB: A NEW DRAGON TATTOO STORY
Sony / Columbia
2,929 $3,000,000
— / $1,024
$3,000,000 / 1
5 THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Buena Vista
3,766 $2,373,000
+185.5% / $630
$28,064,534 / 8
6 A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
2,848 $2,315,000
+131.2% / $813
$172,325,388 / 36
7 NOBODY’S FOOL
Paramount
2,468 $1,800,000
+151.9% / $729
$19,536,108 / 8
8 VENOM (2018)
Sony / Columbia
2,351 $1,270,000
+141.7% / $540
$202,653,603 / 36
9 HALLOWEEN (2018)
Universal
2,717 $1,150,000
+139.4% / $423
$154,119,845 / 22
10 THE HATE U GIVE
Fox
1,108 $555,000
+165.2% / $501
$25,190,883 / 36
11 CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Fox Searchlight
391 $376,000
+304.7% / $962
$2,510,977 / 22
12 SMALLFOOT
Warner Bros.
1,318 $310,000
+95.9% / $235
$79,111,553 / 43
– NIGHT SCHOOL (2018)
Universal
717 $279,000
+242.7% / $389
$75,275,745 / 43
– FIRST MAN
Universal
815 $261,000
+73.8% / $320
$43,073,705 / 29
– BOY ERASED
Focus Features
77 $230,000
+1537% / $2,987
$503,164 / 8
– GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN
Sony / Columbia
1,519 $200,000
+53.6% / $132
$45,180,844 / 29
– THE OLD MAN & THE GUN
Fox Searchlight
395 $135,000
+11% / $342
$9,895,835 / 43
– INDIVISIBLE
Pure Flix
202 $50,500
-16.3% / $250
$3,257,193 / 15
– INCREDIBLES 2
Buena Vista
140 $30,000
+190.3% / $214
$608,183,459 / 148
– DISNEY’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
Buena Vista
122 $17,000
+84.4% / $139
$99,065,784 / 99
– THE FRONT RUNNER
Sony / Columbia
4 $11,000
+54.8% / $2,750
$31,199 / 4
“The Front Runner” makes four b.o. non-starters in a row for Jason Reitman.
Hard to believe Sony is really taking it wide November 21st.
Kind of remarkable how Reitman went from having his finger on the zeitgeist (with his first three films), and now seems utterly clueless as to what audiences want.
If Reitman was female, his career would have been kaput three flops ago. It’ll be curious to see if he’s given yet another chance to rebound.
I’ve liked all of his films to one degree or another (yes, even “Labor Day” and “Men, Women and Children”), so I hope he finds his commercial footing again.
Another great hold for “A Star is Born.”
Interesting that Amazon didn’t volunteer figures for yesterday’s expansion of “Beautiful Boy” which–stunningly–opened locally. Especially surprising since we never even got “The Old Man and the Gun.”
Kind of weird that “Nobody’s Fool” hasn’t done better. It’s the first Tyler Perry movie since “Daddy’s Little Girls” that wasn’t torturous to sit through. Apparently Perry’s core demo doesn’t believe in supporting “R” rated movies.
I loved Tully. It deserved a much bigger audience. The Front Runner just doesn’t interest me. Seems like the wrong political movie at the wrong time.
Really liked “Outlaw King,” too, SB. The generally tepid reviews baffle me.
And yeah, it definitely has the feel of a (worthy) “Braveheart” sequel.
Surprisingly, for a movie that received a late-inning trim, it never felt (at least to me) choppy–like something vital was missing.
Would also like to see the longer cut, though: what remains is definitely choice.
Pine, Pugh, Dillane, Taylor-Johnson are all great, and I was pleasantly surprised by Billy Howle who did nothing for me in “On Chesil Beach” and “The Seagull” earlier this year.
I’m a political junkie so I’m looking forward to “The Front Runner.” At this point, I probably won’t get a chance to see it before home video.
Yeah, “Tully” may not have done well, but it’s very good – a strong comeback for Reitman in every way but at the box office. I haven’t seen “The Front Runner.” Had a couple of chances at various festivals, but I’m just not interested. I lived through that story – I was young, but I remember it vividly. Never thought it cried out for a big-screen treatment.
make orwell fiction again
good gains in the House – mostly by a metric shitton of trailblazing chicas – are a heartwarming and necessary development but insufficient to put a stop to the machinations of the cowardly, craven and despicable sundowning psychopath widdle donny dicktater wannabe mob boss and his slithering kakistocracy of lying, sadistic fundamentalist kleptocrats (this mid-term election phase feels like the movie ‘mandy’ wherein part one – a period of mysterious feminine strength and mystique supported by the loving reds out there tinged with an undercurrent of lurking menace – is then mostly obliterated by the return of the malignant abusers on their chaotic mission to spread self-gratifying pain and carnage in part two) – enabled by an almost entirely useless and/or complicit mainstream US “news” media (with a few individual exceptions here and there) spreading the regime’s spaghetti-on-the-wall style propaganda and unceasing projection in the face of consolidating fascism (herr goebbels would be proud) in floundering fits of duped stoogery through to the knowing propagation of lies in a stunning display of journalistic malpractice.
(widdle donnie dick’s visitation with the puppetmaster now in the old country should be interesting…oh to be a fly on the wall to see papa putin’s annual job appraisal of his malignant blunt tool, who must avoid water at all cost in order not to melt into a puddle like his soul sister)
on weird side note, it’s always bizarre to see rain that comes straight down. here in wellyworld diagonal-to-horizontal rain is the fashion and umbrellas are merely ornamental.
re ‘overlord’, i thought it was pretty well done overall but something did bug me, and i haven’t had time to read any criticism of the movie so it may be out there, but:
————- SPOILERS —————–
during WW2 US troops were still racially segregated, not integrated, so while i appreciated the attempt on the part of the production to begin proceedings with a more real-war sensibility that then slowly incorporates supernatural b-movie pulp horror elements, this blatant revisionist ignoring of historical fact and truth seems somehow disrespectful and flippant in the face of the many segregated black soldiers who put it all on the line fighting tyranny for a country that treated them like separate second-class citizens, but of course the US govt was more than happy to have them die for the cause. it would have been more effective to address this truth and use it in the plot somehow, the integration of troops for some reason for this particular mission, it needn’t overwhelm the narrative and could have added a subtle layer of realism and social commentary to the war/horror sensibility
Leah- Agree about the (no pun intended) whitewashing of WW II U.S. military racial segregation in “Overlord.” I mentioned it to my screening companion on the drive home, and we both agreed that it was an attempt to put a revisionist/p.c. spin on historical fact: rewriting a(nother) shameful chapter in American race relations to make it more palatable for 21st century sensibilities.
The truth would have been a lot more impactful, even within the fanciful context of a legitimately goofy genre mash-up.
I liked Overlord better when it was called Mandy.
best OVERLORD character Tibbet (John Magaro – only thing i’ve seen him – Big Short) … the character of which is both Willie and Joe, the WWII cartoon characters adapted to movies (1951’s Up Front) with Willie (Tom Ewell) Joe (David Wayne) … $5 and a pool cue
movieman – yes, i’m actually quite curious as to the film-makers mental processes behind depicting such blatant revisionism, i mean it’s inconceivable such a mistake is born of ignorance given the many, many people it takes takes over the course of pre-, principle and post-production to make a film and the sheer odds that every single one of them can’t be a complete moron, so your theory re rewriting shameful history in order to make the story more comfortable for current auds seems likely, and just a bit pathetic really
“I liked Overlord better when it was called Mandy.”
Yeah, they’re easy to confuse since one takes place in the Pacific Northwest in 1983, and the other in occupied France in 1944. WTF?
1 N Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) Uni. $66,000,000 – 4,141 – $15,938 $66,000,000 $75 1
2 1 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $30,850,000 -39.6% 4,000 – $7,713 $100,010,548 $52 2
3 N Overlord Par. $10,100,000 – 2,859 – $3,533 $10,100,000 $38 1
4 2 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms BV $9,565,000 -53.0% 3,766 – $2,540 $35,256,534 $120 2
5 N The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story Sony $8,015,000 – 2,929 – $2,736 $8,015,000 $43 1
6 4 A Star is Born (2018) WB $8,010,000 -27.2% 2,848 -583 $2,813 $178,020,388 $36 6
7 3 Nobody’s Fool Par. $6,540,000 -52.4% 2,468 – $2,650 $24,276,108 $19 2
8 6 Venom (2018) Sony $4,850,000 -38.4% 2,351 -716 $2,063 $206,233,603 $100 6
9 5 Halloween (2018) Uni. $3,840,000 -64.5% 2,717 -1,058 $1,413 $156,810,845 $10 4
10 10 The Hate U Give Fox $2,070,000 -38.3% 1,108 -399 $1,868 $26,705,883 $23 6
11 7 Smallfoot WB $1,505,000 -61.0% 1,318 -684 $1,142 $80,306,553 – 7
12 16 Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $1,475,000 +42.9% 391 +211 $3,772 $3,609,977 – 4
13 13 Beautiful Boy (2018) Amazon $1,404,560 +4.4% 776 +236 $1,810 $5,181,513 – 5
14 12 Night School (2018) Uni. $950,000 -52.3% 717 -554 $1,325 $75,949,745 $29 7
15 11 First Man Uni. $895,000 -59.0% 815 -897 $1,098 $43,706,705 $59 5
16 8 Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Sony $855,000 -77.3% 1,519 -1,309 $563 $45,835,844 $35 5
17 9 Hunter Killer LG/S $730,000 -79.3% 957 -1,763 $763 $15,206,151 – 3
18 25 Boy Erased Focus $725,000 +250.1% 77 +72 $9,416 $997,164 – 2
19 17 The Old Man & the Gun FoxS $470,000 -53.7% 395 -370 $1,190 $10,230,835 – 7
20 14 Mid90s A24 $400,000 -69.9% 340 -751 $1,176 $6,817,490 – 4
21 19 Suspiria Amazon $326,250 -66.7% 261 -50 $1,250 $1,904,806 – 3
22 38 A Private War Aviron $201,400 +232.9% 40 +36 $5,035 $283,843 – 2
23 20 Indivisible PFR $160,000 -79.0% 202 -540 $792 $3,366,693 – 3
24 27 Incredibles 2 BV $144,000 -14.8% 140 -10 $1,029 $608,297,459 – 22
25 32 Maria by Callas SPC $97,350 +5.9% 26 +10 $3,744 $308,732 – 2
26 26 Colette BST $83,631 -53.1% 81 -49 $1,032 $4,976,625 – 8
27 42 Burning WGUSA $79,644 +46.9% 27 +21 $2,950 $198,796 – 3
28 29 Disney’s Christopher Robin BV $70,000 -50.0% 122 -43 $574 $99,118,784 – 15
29 N The Front Runner Sony $56,000 – 4 – $14,000 $76,199 – 1
30 41 Border Neon $45,077 -17.0% 15 +3 $3,005 $243,590 – 3
31 45 What They Had BST $35,391 -11.7% 53 +16 $668 $222,133 – 4
32 43 Bodied Neon $28,448 -46.3% 17 +3 $1,673 $100,100 – 2
33 44 The Wife SPC $26,774 -33.8% 35 -14 $765 $7,738,682 – 13
34 N El Angel Orch. $25,473 – 2 – $12,737 $25,473 – 1
35 59 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $16,569 +89.8% 14 +6 $1,184 $67,386 – 6
36 33 The Happy Prince SPC $16,301 -81.1% 73 -204 $223 $428,600 – 5
37 55 Monrovia, Indiana Zipp. $8,804 -36.9% 10 – $880 $36,334 – 3
38 N Chef Flynn KL $8,100 – 1 – $8,100 $8,100 – 1
39 46 In Search of Greatness Art of Sport $7,500 -77.2% 10 -6 $750 $53,229 – 2
What the F is Michael Bergeron talking about?
I found OVERLORD to be very enjoyable if slight. I didn’t think about the racial revisionism until now honestly. But I thought it worked as a fun slice of speculative fiction. What if the Nazis succeeded in some of their sick experiments.
I also finally saw INCREDIBLES 2 but I need to watch it again. I kept nodding off. I don’t know if it was the movie or just me.
Watched HEREDITARY for the second time and I’m more convinced than ever that it’s a masterpiece. I became SO anxious in the scenes leading up to the pole scene. As soon as the party is mentioned…I come from a very badly broken bloodline and I have been able to buck fate somewhat that many of my siblings and cousins have not. This movie just does me hardcore.
I watched TERRIFIED on Shudder. Compelling but I really don’t know what it was on about.
And finished with APOSTLE. Boy, that was kind of a mess, huh? All over the place. I had a hard time identifying with anyone but Lucy Boynton is a gorgeous talent. It kept me interested and I would recommend it but the script needed another pass.
That’s all. That’s a lot actually
Lucy Boynton is good in Bohemian Rhapsody as well.
“I kept nodding off. I don’t know if it was the movie or just me.”
It was the movie, Bill; not you.
I liked Overlord better, when it was a COD expansion pack!
Also, big ups to Sony and Venom, for confusing Chinese audiences, and getting them to turn out for a movie many probably believed had Spider-Man in it. Good job to everyone involved.
That is a beyond massive number for Venom in China. Having a quarter of it bankrolled by China certainly didn’t hurt, it at least explains how it got a release, isn’t it a little rougher than what they usually allow to play?
So I guess yippee another universe being built? Is there now a Black Cat movie with a Venom cameo for Summer 2020?
Stan Lee passes away at 95. A true Legend. No more Marvel cameos unless they filmed them in advance.
Weird that he & Steve Ditko both die in the same year.
Bill, I have problems with both Incredibles. They are undoubtedly cool and fun, but at the same time predictable and cliche.
Also, RIP Stan Lee. He really did create a universe. And I will miss those cameos (I assume he shot one for Avengers 4, so I will still look forward to that one.).
One of the things about the reaction to the second Garfield Spidey that bugged me is that it cost us Felicity Jones in a standalone Black Cat / Sinister Six movie. If they bring her into Venom 2 then I’m all in.
Incredibles 2 was too little, too late. Doesn’t do enough to justify its existence. Picking up where the last film left off was a mistake. Felt like a minor episode of an Incredibles TV series. Fun, entertaining, whatever, but definitely a disappointment.
This could be a smart retrenchment move for Reitman.
EXCLUSIVE: HBO has put in development a half-hour comedy series starring and produced by David Spade. The project hails from frequent collaborators Diablo Cody and her Vita Vera Films and Jason Reitman and his Right of Way Films.
Written by Cody, the as-yet untitled comedy centers on Calvin Wash, played by Spade, who in the 90s was a semi-famous grunge musician hooked on heroin. Now he’s clean, sober and working as a waiter in the Valley. When he meets troubled 20-something actress Bailey, both of their lives change in unexpected and electrifying ways.
Saturday Night Live and Rules of Engagement alum Spade recently co-starred on ABC comedy series The Mayor and Judd Apatow’s Netflix comedy Love. He also executive produces and stars in Verified with David Spade, a Comedy Central pilot for a weekly comedy series skewering pop culture and news through the lens of social media.
Spade received an Emmy nomination for his starring role on NBC’s Just Shoot Me. Earlier this summer he released A Polaroid Guy in a Snapchat World, a memoir about his experiences with aging, on Audible. Spade was recently seen in Netflix comedy feature Father of the Year and drama Warning Shot. He is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and WME.
The project reunites Cody and Reitman who worked together on features Juno, Young Adult and Tully, all directed by Reitman and written by Cody.
Cody recently co-created and executive produced the Amazon comedy series One Mississippi. The United States Of Tara creator has two broadcast projects in development at Fox, an Alice reboot with a put pilot commitment, and Hanging On, a multi-camera family comedy with comedian Sabrina Jalees.
Reitman most recently wrote, directed and produced the feature The Front Runner starring Hugh Jackman.
Not sure who I can see as less of a rock star than Spade. Harlem Williams, Topher Grace?
so the burnt orange witch of the east hides out where no water can possibly fall on his stapled-on “hair” and melt him into a puddle instead of honouring vets, classic patriotic move! i wish i could send my uncle round there (two tours in vietnam) to tune him up, ratfucking shitstain
i believe bergeron is saying that what he considers the best character in ‘overload’ – tibbet, the cracking wise guy – is like a mash-up of the joe and willie characters from the war flick ‘up front’ (about which i’ll take his word). what this has to do with ‘mandy’ is a head-scratcher, i mentioned ‘mandy’ in my previous post so this seems the only explanation for bringing it up, maybe bergeron was trippin balls.
if someone of that ilk has to have a comeback series i’d prefer dana carvey
Second the Carvey vote. I like the Reitman/Cody collaborations but that sounds like a terrible show. Spade as a lead in just about anything screams stay far away.
let’s start a petition
David Spade is fucking wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, DENNIS LEARY ALREADY MADE A SHOW… sorta like this. I will give it a chance, because it’s Spade. He’s really a good actor, when giving something interesting to do.
I will also believe that they chose Spade, because of the mural someone put up a year or two ago. It featured Spade, as Kurt Cobain, next to the quote, “It’s better to burn out, then fade away.” Someone seeing that; and making him a former grunge star in a show, cannot be a coincedence.
Nice update on MCN. Glad to see its still breathing.
What is Spade wonderful in? Tommy Boy? He’s been fingernails on a chalkboard in what I’ve seen him in lately.
Has Spade ever played anything else but a Man-child? Has he done anything not produced by Sandler in the last decade? And that Verified stuff sounds like the old Hollywood Minute shtick he did on SNL which he has already trotted out in show form multiple times.
I can’t understand how someone continues to get work after having a project go Straight To Crackle.
Erm….David Spade is a super secret guilty pleasure. Dickie Roberts…The Benchwarmers…Joe Dirt…please don’t judge me.
Joe Dirt 2 was a big deal for Crackle, and the specifically paid for it. That’s the whole point of that movie existing. Spade has also been on several long running sitcoms, and he doesn’t always play the same note character. He’s just an engaging talent, when he wants to be, so I look forward to him getting a prestige gig.
You constantly surprise JS. David Spade is an engaging talent is definitely something I never expected to read.
Sorry Bill, you have been judged. We still love you and all but wow. And that’s coming from someone who was actually impressed by Jack and Jill (of which Spade was the worst part) so you know just how guilty that pleasure you have is.
But if I can bring myself to be completely neutral, the role as described above sounds like a more mature type of comedy, sure there will be a TON of drug and sex jokes as he refers back to his old life of debauchery and we can certainly look at Young Adult and Tully to see what this type of life passed by themes this will touch on. But as a performer Spade has never shown ANY type of gravitas so the idea that he will be able to strike the melancholy notes that might be required is unlikely. And the audience Spade is going to bring to this (aged Sandler fans, Pro Wrestling enthusiasts, people who think Metal will make a comeback and apparently Sideshow Bill) is not going to vibe to Reitman’s/Cody’s rhythm of humor.
And Joe Dirt being a big get for Crackle shows just how small Crackle is.
Please leave METAL out of this. As it never truly went away, it doesn’t need a comeback.
LOL @ hcat. I’ll die on that hill. Those movies made me laugh.
Finally saw SUPIRIA tonight. Wow. It has some storytelling problems and there are some things I don’t quite get but I liked it a lot. I felt like a discovered piece of authentic 70s satanic cinema. This is how I prefer my remakes. Take the premise and essence and rethink it. This movie admittedly stretched it to the breaking point and I wasn’t with it every step but I can say that I wanna see it again ASAP
Don’t insult METAL, or WRESTLING! Both fanbases are incredible and both fanbases, a lot more tolerant than you are, HC. Again, go watch his time on that sitcom with Oliver Hudson. He’s really good on it, and when he’s given emotional moments in any material. He fuckng nails it.
Again, I am glad that he has a chance at a prestige show, because Spade will shock people like HC.
sideshow B – you seem to like every single movie you see, even the shitty ones
i feel like a movement for the carveynaissance is getting lost in this david spade noise.
(JS, i watched that sitcom on cable – called ‘rules of engagement’ – and spade plays a variation of the same stunted man-baby dickweasel with a reluctant heart of gold that he’s played 98% of the time, only more geriatric and pathetic. ‘wonderful’ is a pretty strong word, crikey)
I recently saw Carvey on an episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s Netflix show and was reminded of how funny and delightful he is.
And on the topic of Pro Wrestling Enthusiasts: YES! YES! YES! New champ!
While I have always hated Pro Wrestling, it is a little less obnoxious since they stopped insisting it was real. And I have to give props to them for marinating the talent of Johnson and Cena. Not going to be Oscar winners but they are wonderful movie stars with charisma to spare.
I would like Carvey to get another shot at a sketch or talk show, but like with Spade was there any films or sitcoms that you look at fondly? I would be very pleased if Carvey could manage something like Nathan Lane’s current career, popping up for ten minutes or so in a sitcom or movie to absolutely steal the show.
leahnz….hmm. Maybe I’m too easy on some stuff but I have pretty good intuition about what I am and aren’t going to like. I’m picky about what I spend my time on. I’m just a fan so I don’t see everything. So I end up with a pretty good batting average.
I’d be insulted if you weren’t kinda right. There are several movies I didn’t like this year but I rarely waste time mentioning them. But just this last weekend I didn’t like Incredibles 2.
What a strange conversation.
This made me curious to review my year so far. Movies I didn’t like:
Incredibles 2
Insidious 4
Malevolent
Slenderman
Hellraiser: Judgement
The Meg (although I was soft on it at the time)
Veronica
Jurassic World 2 (again, was wishy washy after seeing it but don’t give a crap about it now)
Unfriended 2
The Strangers 2
Apostle is kinda right on the border. But honestly I’m not really going out on a limb there for most of those.
I have NOT seen:
Venom
Happy time Murders
Life Itself
Sherlock Gnomes
Skyscraper
A Star Is Born
Pacific Rim 2
Mile 22
Death Wish
Peppermint
A Wrinkle In Time
The Nun
Game Night
Blockers
And many more potential baddies. Again, I don’t know what this proves aside from me not seeing stuff I don’t think I’m gonna like or is overwhelmingly poorly received.
The fact that I loved The Predator probably cancels out any argument I have in some eyes. Oh well. It’s all in fun.
Not that you are missing a lot with not seeing Game Night or Blockers but I thought they were perfectly fine right over the base studio comedies. Game Night a little less because it has that New Line thing where people commit all sorts of crimes and anarchy with no repercussions but McAdams was sensational in it.
I don’t want to pick at you, and it makes sense that you avoid films that you know in advance are not your bag, but I am curious to see A Star is Born listed along with Happytime Murders and Death Wish. Is it musicals, remakes, GaGa or the combination of GaGa in a musical remake? I can see a legitimate reason for skipping anything else on the list, just wondering why that’s included.
Maybe because some of us found the trailer to A Star is Born to be nails on a chalkboard? My wife leaned over and whispered “who told Bradley Cooper he could sing?” And my response was “that’s why he’s the director.”
And Sideshow, go ahead and cross Happytime Murders off your list. Trust me, you don’t wanna waste your time.
But try and catch Venom in the theater.
You’re not picking at me, hcat.
1) Musicals are NOT my thing at all unless they’re called This Is Spinal Tap. Rocky Horror and Little Shop I also enjoy. I just can’t really get into them. I’m not a Gaga fan but I like her. I have no interest in seeing the story again I guess? It’s one I probably would have seen if I had a girlfriend or was still married. Is this me limiting myself to preferred genres? Yea. But there are also plenty of music dramas I like, such as Crazy Heart.
Death Wish — I hate Eli Roth and the reviews were terrible. That being said I feel a lurid, shameful urge to watch it just to see Vincent D’Onofrio give a small performance 1000 times better than most leads. I love him. I hope I hold out though.
Happytime, mostly reviews but it felt flat to me right from the start.
There is a lesson in here about leaving your comfort zone and seeing something well regarded even though it doesn’t feel like your thing. I’ve done that with varying degrees of success. I’ll probably catch SIB one day on TV.
As for remakes, I’m a DEFENDER of remakes. I think anything can be remade and be good. Doesn’t mean they should ( Jaws) or they all turn out good (RZ Halloween). But Carpenter’s The Thing, Cronenberg’s The Fly, Suspiria (yes, it’s early but I’ll say it) and a few others justify all the bad shit. Doesn’t mean I’ll turn out for Child’s Play 2019 but I don’t care that it’s being done.
I don’t know if I’m clearing anything up or not. But note I haven’t seen Bohemian Rhapsody and I love Queen. I wanted a Freddie Mercury biopic, accurate and truthful. Not what sounds like a cliche BAND story.
When they make a genuine Ramones biopic and not that CBGB crap I’ll be all over that. Even if it turns out not so great. That’s a very telling statement.
I’m fickle and inconsistent.
I will say this: when I was a teenager I hated DIRTY DANCING, without seeing it. I was a Fangoria/Starlog reading alternadork rewatching Eraserhead every weekend.
Then I caught it on TV and I loved it and it moved me and made me cry. I was rattled. I don’t think I’ve ever watched it again.
My shrink could probably do a lot with that.
SO… HC has always hated fun? GOOD TO KNOW :D!
Dirty Dancing is a fun movie, that’s just so damn long. It’s like driving up to the Catskills. Also, as a child, the whole abortion subplot confused the hell out of me. It was the prognicator of confusing scenes, like the forensics scene in The Dark Knight. Being obtuse to be obtuse just isn’t fun.
Bill, I was going to ask why you added Star and not Bohemian. Sure its fine to not like musicals, I don’t need people’s taste to march lockstep in mine, just reserve the right to mock and ridicule when they differ. 🙂
JS, Fake Wrestling has always seemed to me like an ingredient in a unholy stew along with country music, television preachers and Fox News.
I’m surprised you like Suspiria so much Bill. I was not impressed. At all. And the more I think about it the less I like it. It is not in the same ballpark as The Fly or The Thing. That’s sacrilege. And it won’t age well.
You might be right Stella. I’ve liked films that later came apart for me. I’ve changed my mind both ways on several movies (off the top of my head THE MASTER went from indifference to adoration after 3 viewings whereas I like WILD AT HEART less and less and consider it minor Lynch.)
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Like I said I have problems with the movie. There’s a lot of square pegs being forced into round holes with the attempted political parallels. I think Josef’s story slows things down. Tilda playing Josef has to mean more than just a stunt to Luca and Tilda, they’re too smart. But I have no idea what they’re trying to say. There are some storytelling faults too (how does Mia Goth all of a sudden know all the nooks and crannies?)
That being said it felt to me like an authentic piece of lurid 70s satanic cinema. The set pieces, especially the finale, I felt were audacious and silly and scary all at once. I liked the performances. I liked its core enough that I can overlook the other stuff for now. The camerawork did call attention to itself sometimes. The dancing? That was all nonsense to me but charmingly earnest nonsense. I also liked the exploding heads and that whole “execution” sequence.
It delivered for me while not quite being Hereditary perfect for me.
END SPOILERS
HC, you thinking that of Pro Wrestling, is just dumb. Do you feel that way about the Japanese? The Mexicans? The British? Please. Feel free to tell those capitals of wrestling, that they are associated with your ideals of the south, you coastal elite ahole :P!
Seriously. Wrestling, has one of the most engaged and smart fanbase anywhere on the net. It’s a live action movie, that when it’s good… it’s some of the best entertainment one can watch and consume. The WWE is a turd on a hot sidewalk right now, so they aren’t the best example. They have moments though, and they have to get better by 2019.
Nevertheless, the best storylines in wrestling this year, are two men rekindling their relationship, and becoming a tag team again. While the other is about an overlooked woman, that they tried to make a heel. The fans refused to boo her, and she became… THE MAN. Two gay gentlemen and a woman. Maybe HC. You should learn more about wrestling.
^ JS, what are you referring to, cause I’m stumped?
“you coastal elite ahole :P! ”
Ha, I am in central Illinois, half of my office is out tomorrow for Deer Season, I hardly fit the limousine liberal profile, liberal sure just a 10 year old Rav instead of the limousine.
“You should learn more about wrestling.”
Holy shit are there few things less likely to happen. My media consumption has become preciously light this year so the concentration will certainly not be on overcoming loathing for a yelly soap opera dressed up as a pseudo sport (hell I don’t have time to watch real sports). Tonight I am finishing Penn’s Night Moves on Amazon and if it shows up in the mail Charly Varrick.
Holy shit Hcat I watched the first hour of Night Moves on Amazon two days ago. Hope to finish it ASAP. The kids had just watched Apple Dumpling Gang so seeing Dusty as Gene’s wife was a trip. Night Moves (the hour or so I’ve seen; stopped after they came home from finding the plane) is an interesting flick. Feels very of its time, in a good way. I’m also halfway through rewatching Little Odessa, which is wonderful.
I don’t know the age of the kids but Frisco Kid is on Amazon this month as well, I remember watching that constantly at around 9-10 years old, but who knows if it was appropriate, 70s PG covered a lot of ground. But if the kids liked Apple Dumplin…..
But Amazon this month is chock full, I finally saw my last unwatched Bond, Live and Let Die, and feel fine with taking so long to do so as it felt remarkably racist. I didn’t think I would find a Bond film as ugly as I found Diamonds but there you have it. I would certainly say the stretch between Majesty and Spy Who Loved Me is the low point of the series, more so than any of the Brosnans.
Oh they love it. Thanks for the recommendation.
I liked wrestling when I was a kid but I can stand it now. But too many people I respect and am friends with LOVE it so…live and let live, ya know?
Pete, the Golden Lovers and Becky Lynch.
HC, then don’t run your mouth, figuratively, about it. If you know about it, then that’s cool. You totally turned it into some regional southern thing, when it’s literally one of the most popular forms of entertainment on earth.
If I had a fucking edit button. If you KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT IT, then you shitting all over it would be fine. You are basically stuck in the past, and completely have no idea how different wrestling is in the 21st century.
Do you not have an edit button? I would love to have a mute one myself 🙂
As for wrestling, it seems you are taking the position that things have changed since the eighties and nineties, that there is somehow more nuance and depth to the enterprise. Is it no longer a fictional storyline of conflict with shifting loyalties resolved by a violent three stooges routine with a predetermined outcome masquerading as a sporting competition? If not than cheers to them, still not watching it though. Don’t care about it either way.
I never said anything about it being a southern thing, the activities I lumped it with are done nation and likely world wide.
HC, yes, it’s a completely different product because of the athleticism, and the rise of female performers. Again, the problem with people like you, is the very thought you think you know more than fans of a medium and thus, can dismiss it out of hand, and shit all over it. It’s fucking vulgar to be that way, HC. I don’t need you to be a wrestling fan. How about not being a jerk about it?
And mute buttons exist. It’s when you don’t comment on something you know nothing about… learn to love it, HC. Also… FUN!
I believe I can dismiss what I please, I simply said I don’t watch it because I find it inherently ridiculous, said why I find it ridiculous, and compared it to other things I find ridiculous. I never said that I knew more than fans, just that I knew enough that it was not for me no matter the increased level of athleticism (meaning what, they are in better shape? can bounce higher on the canvass? If I find a flying clothesline boring, a higher flying clothesline is not going to pique my interest).
As for not knowing anything about it, was my description in the post above not accurate? I know exactly what it is.
Is anyone else excited about Park Chan-wook’s “The Little Drummer Girl” on AMC next week? I’ve read nothing but raves, plus it stars Florence Pugh who’s one of my new favorites.
The Ben Stiller-directed limited series premiering on Showtime Sunday sounds good, too, but I discontinued my subscription when “The Affair” ended last summer.
Hope it’s still available On Demand when I re-up for the next (final, right?) season of “Homeland.”
You have no idea what it is, and that’s the point. Again, you are continually dismissive, as some sort of excuse to be rude. Seriously. Just stop, and this is why self-mute buttons are important, because they keep you from coming across as a dingus.
And who cares what either one of us like? If I don’t know something, then I shouldn’t run my figurative mouth about it. Isn’t that the rule? I thought that was the rule.
Thanks for pointing out the LeCarre movieman, I didn’t know that was on the horizon and I’m glad someone is giving that novel another go.
Hcat: Hey, I’m willing to do anything I can to keep the Hot Blog alive!
I am excited for The Little Drummer Girl. It looks fantastic. Will for sure watch it. The Stiller event show looks great but I don’t want to subscribe to Showtime.
Me, too, SB.
I’ve been a Park Chan-wook fan since “Oldboy,” and all the reviews have said that it’s Park-ian to the max, not just some director-for-hire gig.
Yep, my cable bill is big enough as it is. I don’t need an add’l $12.99 added to the mix. Showtime series usually wind up on Netflix: maybe I can catch it there sometime next year.
Caught up w/ “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” yesterday and thought it was sensational.
A career-high for M. McCarthy and Grant’s best screen role since “Withnail & I.”
Loved its evocation of early-’90s NYC life, too.
Thought it was every bit as good as Tamara Jenkins’ recent “Private Life.”
Surprised that it’s seemingly fallen off the awards radar since opening mid-October.
Also really enjoyed “The Old Man and the Gun” which in its sweetness and elegiac tone is closer to David Lowery’s lovely “Pete’s Dragon” reboot than to, say, “A Ghost Story” (which I adore).
Redford, Spacek and Affleck are all great, and Elisabeth Moss and Tom Waits each get a magical moment.
That seems to have disappeared from the “Awards Conversation,” too.
Still catching up (bear w/ me):
Try and check out Paul Dano’s “Wildlife” if you can find it. Besides a career-best performance by Carey Mulligan, it also features one of the most outstanding teen performances of the year by Ed Oxenbould.
The movie itself has the feel of an instant classic, even though it’s more redolent of the type of movies BBS Films made in the early ’70s than anything from this century.
Definitely marks Dano as a director to watch, too.
If the TV spot I saw tonight is any indication, it’s not surprising that The Front Runner is tanking. It’s the first I’ve seen, and it’s bad. Hart says something about preserving the process, but it’s not clear who he is or what he’s talking about. Quick shots of the media, his wife, and his staff talking to him. It’s confusing and does a poor job of selling the movie.
I’d like to see Wildlife. Don’t think we’re getting it though. Will have to be at home.
Mulligan is a treasure, its amazing to watch her age through her career, most people seem to emerge fully formed or stick with the ingénue stuff way past the appropriate age, but watching Mulligan go from An Education to Far from Maddening to Wildlife is fascinating. Can’t wait to see it.
A friend had seen and not been thrilled by “Wildlife,” so I watched it with expectations in check.
I’m with Movieman: It’s great. Felt like the story is ground that has been trod before and sounds like a slog, but it plays if not lightly, at least not as a smothering exercise in ennui. The tone is kind of fascinating. I don’t know how Dano pulled it off. Very impressive.
This interview with Dano talking about his life experience and how it influenced Wildlife sheds some light on how he pulled it off. It’s a good listen and got me really interested in seeing it. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/24/660168891/paul-dano-on-wildlife-and-the-different-anxieties-of-acting-and-directing
One of the things that Dano captures so brilliantly/beautifully in “Wildlife” is how exotic and mysterious adults (specifically parents) seem to children when they’re growing up. Never more so than when they reach their tween years and start thinking about what kind of adults they’ll become themselves..
I can’t praise it highly enough.
At this vantage point, I’d be shocked if it doesn’t make my 10-best list.
I’m totally flummoxed that it hasn’t performed better at the box office.
Hey Stella, did you ever finish Night Moves? Excellent but BLEAK. I love 70s films in general and have a specific soft spot for movies where characters continuously circle the drain (the original Night and the City being the best of them), but was just blown away, and taken aback a bit, on how casually nihilistic the whole thing was.
Which is why I love “Night Moves,” Hcat.
And ’70s movies.
Melanie Griffith’s nudity was kind of shocking on a second viewing. Especially since she was only 17 at the time.
Yes, I was wondering how they got away with that, but then I remember Pretty Baby and obviously no one was minding the store.
I did finish it and I couldn’t agree more. It is very casually bleak. It’s so leisurely paced even though it’s not that long. But it’s never boring. Amazing cast. Not familiar with the actress playing Gene’s Florida lover but she’s wonderful. I loved it.
Sooooo leisurely paced, for a movie involved with mystery and adultry and murder and runaways I don’t think there was a moment until the last few minutes that actually held any amount of tension or suspense. It was like an anti-thriller, where the screws are intentionally left untightened but everyone still gets to the end of their journey. I have never seen a McGuffin be less crucial to a story, hell its not even introduced until 4/5ths of the way through.
So good.
That was Jennifer Warren, SB. She was great.
Besides “Slap Shot” (awesome f****ing movie!), her career never really went anywhere after “Night Moves.”
Which was a real shame.
Warren’s brand of “mature sensuality” is so conspicuously lacking in today’s screen actresses.
Yeah I love how it meanders from California to Florida and back, and has such fun scenes with Harris Yulan and James Woods and the lovely Jennifer Warren. She is stunning and so good. Great flick.
This reminds me I have never gotten around to The Long Goodbye, gotta move that up on the list. Same with Inherent Vice.
Oops Yulin. I watched Inherent Vice recently but have never seen The Long Goodbye. Probably should remedy that.
You’ve got two beauts on your itinerary, Hcat.
“The Long Goodbye” is one of my absolute favorite Altmans, and “Inherent Vice” is sheer bliss for P.T. Anderson-philes like me.
Hope you enjoy them.
How was Vice? Love everyone involved but it just keeps slipping further down the to do.
“Vice” (the P.T. Anderson, not the Dick Cheney biopic that I haven’t seen yet) was P.T.’s most purely entertaining movie since “Boogie Nights.”
And speaking of “mature sensuality,” Katherine Waterston flat-out steals the movie (she deserved a supporting actress nomination).
But everyone (esp Phoenix, of course) is terrific.
It’s also a fantastic companion piece to “The Long Goodbye”…for myriad reasons.
Is this the thread where everyone complained about “Suspiria”?
Just got the chance to see it, and—yowza!
It took awhile (a good 90 minutes if I want to be perfectly honest), but the damn thing finally kicked in.
With a vengeance.
Confirmed my theory that Luca Guadagnino really is the true heir to Bernardo Bertolucci (minus the Marxism, of course).
Like BB in his prime, too much is never enough for Guadagnino. And I dig it.
P.S.= Is Tilda Swinton eligible for consideration in both Best Supporting Actress (and Actor) for her tour-de-force dual performance?
i can complain more about ‘suspiria’ no probs
Milwaukee is getting Wildlife on December 14. And The Favourite on that date as well. So that will be a good weekend.
Surest sign that Universal has thrown in the towel (already? really??) w/ “Green Book” and–but I think we already knew this–“First Man.”
They shipped screeners of both (in the same envelope!) USPS.
No signature required.
The same day “Grinch” turned up Fed Ex…requiring a signature.
Mic drop.
In only six days Grinch has overtaken Grimewald in the daily box office. I thought Beasts would be down from the last installment, but I thought it would at least make it a race.
is depp now BO poison? blech. he’s no colin farrell (who’s having a nice little second life in his career, good on him)
Well movieman I saw The Front Runner after all. Or most of it. Wife wanted to see A Star is Born and when we got to the theater it was sold out. Didn’t expect that. So we went to Front Runner. Neither of us liked it and we left early. Just isn’t all that interesting. Felt nothing for Hart or what was happening to him. The insights into politics and the media might have been compelling years ago, but they aren’t now. Just was not engaged at all. Found Jackman pretty bland and movie doesn’t sell why Hart had such wide appeal. Wrong time for this movie. Not good. An hour or so in my wife said let’s go. She had just seen All the President’s Men and said it was like a Hallmark Xmas movie compared to It’s a Wonderful Life.
Sboy- I thought the most intriguing factoid came in the post-script when we learned that Hart and his wife are still married to this day. Kind of blew my mind.
Agree that it’s not the most “compelling” or “urgent” movie of the season, but I thought the writing was pretty strong and liked most of the performances.
Your wife’s comments sounded like me a year ago complaining about how “The Post” was a wan facsimile of “ATPM.”
The cast is great. So many welcome, familiar faces. J.K. Simmons is particularly fun. But it felt so inconsequential, so mundane. I didn’t dislike it as much as she did, but when she asked if we could leave I wasn’t upset. It’s almost more pointless than it is bad. Can’t say I’m surprised it’s bombing. Here’s hoping Vice is better.
I think it’s a pretty safe bet that “Vice” will be the stronger (and more successful) movie, SB.
Buzz has been off the charts since it began screening.
That’s good. I love the trailer, but it’ll be interesting to see how a Cheney biopic plays in the Trump era and if it’s more than just what I assume is a stellar Bale performance.
If I could make some fast and loose Oscar predictions at this absurdly early vantage point, I’d go w/ Christian Bale (actor), Olivia Colman (actress) and Richard E. Grant (supporting actor).
The rest–as it should be in late-ish November–is still very fuzzy.
I kind of like the fact that even Best Animated Feature is up in the air w/ no clear front runner…although I’m praying “Isle of Dogs” can defeat the Disney/Pixar hegemony.
You watch The Little Drummer Girl yet? I have them recorded but haven’t started yet. Watched Buster Scruggs last night. Not sure how I feel about it. Some Coen Bros. I love immediately and some I need to ponder for a while. Scruggs is the latter.
No!
It’s an insane period because of the # of screeners I need to watch.
That’s pretty much overtaken my at-home viewing this past week (and probably will for the next few weeks, too).
“LDG” is safely stored on my DVR (all three parts), as well as the first two episodes of the Italian-language HBO limited series that got such rave reviews (“My Brilliant Friend”?).
Movieman, welcome to the very tiny Suspiria 2018 Kewl Kids Klub! Have a seat. Help yourself to a juice box. Gabby gabba we accept you.
Just saw “Green Book” + want to revise my Best Supporting Actor prediction from earlier today.
If Mahershala Ali doesn’t win–pulling a Jodie Foster by repeating two years after his win for “Moonlight”–I’ll swear off all future Oscar predictions.
The fact that Ali is really a co-lead w/ Viggo Mortensen def won’t hurt his chances.
Glad to hear I’m not alone, Bill! Would you agree that the ending–the death bed scene w/ Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton–is wildly, “where-the-fuck-did-this-come-from?” moving? I almost cried.
MM, I would love to hear some general thoughts of Green Book. It seems to get a lot of praise but there seems to be an undercurrent of ‘this film should have been made 20, 30 years ago.” I am curious if you found that to be true, and if it would even hurt the films chances at all. I fully agree with the criticism, why is Viggo top billed in a movie about the Jim Crow era south? But if they put together a pleasing movie are audiences going to overlook that?
I second that Hcat. I listened to an interesting show on NPR last week that spent an hour dissecting Green Book. Of the three guests critiquing it, one (white guy) gave it five stars out of five while another (black woman) gave it zero out of five, partially because in her estimation Viggo is the lead. I see my 68-year-old mom loving it. Seems like a safe movie that’s easy for white liberals to embrace.
Hcat & SB: I spent the first half of “Green Book” wanting to hate it–eagerly looking for anything that may have seemed tone-deaf or politically incorrect (i.e., whatever bug was up A.O. Scott’s ass when he reviewed it)–but the damn thing pretty much won me over hook, line and sinker.
Ali and Mortensen truly are co-leads. I’m assuming it was Universal’s awards marketing department that determined they’d have a better shot if slotted into lead and supporting categories. If it’s the difference between both actors being shut out because they cancelled each other’s votes (vs. the very real potential of both winning in separate categories), I guess I’m OK with that.
The thing that’s most irresistible about the movie is that it posits the wonderful notion (some would say “fairy tale notion”) that people can indeed change. Both characters do (over the course of the film), and I can’t deny that I was moved by their separate (but equal) journeys.
Yeah, some of it’s a tad broad (particularly among Mortensen’s goombah family/friends), and I could bitch
about the fake-looking snow in the climactic Xmas Eve scene.
Or quibble with “Lawrence of Arabia” being on a Bronx neighborhood movie theater’s marquee in December 1962 when the movie would remain an exclusive Manhattan roadshow engagement until late into ’63.
But it works, and is pretty much the definition of an old-fashioned “audience movie.” If it was 2010 and Harvey Weinstein was running the awards campaign, I’d call it the indisputable front-runner.
But it’s not 2010. Demographics of the Academy membership are slowly (but surely) changing, and the culture (yes, even the “Industry Culture”) has changed
dramatically as well in the past two years, mostly for the better.
If someone put a gun to my head right now, I’d peg “A Star is Born” and “Black Panther” as co-favorites.
“Green Book” will be nominated, though, and I’m betting that anyone who votes for it will be passionate about their choice.
The instant “Green Book” ended and the festival audience leapt to its feet, I figured “GB” had Best Picture in the bag. Recent weeks have cast some doubt on that, but I’m still guessing it’ll win. People who see it love it. That’s all it takes – as long as people, you know, *see it.*
That doesn’t mean it’s my choice for BP – I’m probably rooting for “The Favourite” among what we suspect will be the major contenders. But “The Rider” remains the best movie I’ve seen this year.
“Or quibble with “Lawrence of Arabia” being on a Bronx neighborhood movie theater’s marquee in December 1962”
You would have thought they would use To Kill a Mockingbird. I always laugh at how they only seem to show movie posters or Marquee names of films from the same studio. I remember watching Nice Guys and thinking they must have expected it to be released by Universal based on the giant era appropriate billboards for Smokey and the Bandit and Jaws 2.
Thanks for the quick rundown. It does sound more palatable if they did indeed make them co-leads.
“The Rider” is one of my top favorites of the year, too, Christian. I wish more people had seen it.
Yet the fact that the movie managed to gross in excess of $2-million at the
domestic b.o.–and apparently won Chloe Zhao a Marvel directing gig (!?!)–is quite the victory.
I’d be shocked. If Green Book wins a damn thing.
“and the culture (yes, even the “Industry Culture”) has changed
dramatically as well in the past two years, mostly for the better.”
meaning the film industry? if so, i really wish this were the case but it simply isn’t. lip service and performative wokeness are not indicative of actual change, and little real progress has been made towards a diverse industry
(looking at film criticism – if that was the subject – looks mighty similar in that regard: a bit of performative diversity doesn’t make up for the cadre of overwhelmingly white guys, whose opinion is still insidiously considered ‘neutral’ and ‘universal’, shaping critical opinion)
Yeah it seems a bit premature to declare a dramatic change for the better.
I watched The Rider last night and it is absolutely magnificent. I really wish I had seen it in theaters. Just a beautiful movie. I definitely teared up at the end. Love the last shot. One of the year’s best for sure.
‘the rider’ is such a great example of how diversity in film production (particularly writing/directing) is such a boon to the creative pool — who da thunk a chinese girl growing up in beijing and then finishing her formal education in the US would be the one to tell the story of the rider/brady with such sensitivity, authenticity, power and visual flair, portraying this world of the badlands and brady’s struggle to find his place within it – no doubt lightyears removed from that of Zhao’s own personal experience – with such simple elegance, contrasting frailty/strength and heart. sometimes the best stories are told by someone with a different perspective looking in to find that common thread of humanity that transcends and intertwines all cultures and ways of life.