The cognoscenti traveling to Venice and Telluride have already tut-tutted the movies of fall and are spatting those overly familiar food fights about awards. Can they beat you away with their sticks?
amit on: Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
Christian on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
YancySkancy on: Review: Little Women (no spoilers)
Hcat on: Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree
movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
movieman on: I Should Be Doing Box Office
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)
see all »
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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
honestly who cares about this petty nonsense
(fix: flush the entire fabricated ‘awards season’ dog-n-pony industry down the shitter and funnel all that cash into something real and worthwhile, and have film awards at the end of the actual year for movies from the entirely of said year. the entire thing is just a laughably inane farce at this point.)
I have a genuine concern about seeing Joker in theaters. If it can truly be interpreted as “incel friendly,” even if it’s being misunderstood….I don’t know. We are not safe anywhere from white male terrorists with guns. I will scope out the exits at Midsommar DC and It 2 this week. I always do. Do I need to wear kevlar to Joker?
They aren’t going to scare me away from the movies, but going to the movies, much less shopping, and being a little bit scared really fucking sucks.
OK. So I wouldn’t say the DC of Midsommar is essential but it was still a magical experience for me. I was enthralled again. The new stuff added texture without being gratuitous. I picked up on more things third time around. So much to unpack. Also, I had a different opinion all three times about whether or not [REDACTED] deserved their fate. It wasn’t even anything new that made me feel [REDACTED] deserved it. It was a small but important act of free will. And my god the fucking music. Haxan Cloak won’t get remembered at awards time but it’s overwhelming and beautiful and crescendo’s during that final sequence and I get goosebumps. I fucking love movies And Julie just bravely went with the wackiness and had a good experience. I’m happy. Bring on film #3, Ari Aster!
Glad to hear that Julie didn’t run screaming from the theater, Bill. Looks like you might have a keeper.
re midsommar, having finally seen it and given up on trying to avoid spoilers long ago:
————— MASSIVE SPOILERS ————————
i don’t quite get the dude obsession (well i do, really) with “did christian deserve his fate?!” as the ultimate point of order in the movie, given the moment pele invited him and his 2 fellow douchecanoe friends mark and josh to midsommar (and in hindsight i rather think this is WHY pele befriended this particular three-egg douchebasket in the first place…) and they got on that plane their deaths as part of the nine lives required for the 90yr human sacrifice was sealed. the outsiders are doomed one way or another; whether in the final fire or flayed alive, etc they were never getting out alive. christian’s just the biggest of the doomed self-involved patsys. it’s not about him.
the really interesting question is, did dani deserve her fate? pele has designs on her from the start, and while she appears the only one of the outsiders who ever had a chance and the sole survivor at the end, she’s completely betrayed, utterly broken and destroyed, absorbed into a massive bouquet as a metaphor for the band of cheerful demented flower-wielding homicidal hillbilly cultists with whom she is now trapped in madness. harsh fate for a gormless, sweet girl with ptsd
Let me think on that Leah but I love your insight. I think the focus on Christian, for me anyway, is because of Aster’s insistence that it’s a “break-up movie.” Maybe it’s better to think about it in terms of metaphor. Well, of course it is.
You are right on Pele. It becomes more blatantly obvious after further viewings. I mean it was after the first viewing but his entire performance, word choices, shit choices, are there to tell you.
Very glad you’re happy Bill. I don’t like Midsommar enough to want to see a director’s cut. Especially since they announced a director’s cut like two days after I saw it. That’s annoying. And there’s too many other things I want to see. But very happy you had a good experience with your girlfriend.
Fascinated by The Joker reviews and also repelled by the instant nasty fighting about it. If he’s portrayed as a victimized hero justified in lashing out against a society that’s treated him unfairly and an anti-hero not a villain who only feels like a real man after he begins committing horrific acts of extreme violence, yikes. Here’s hoping that’s not the case.
I’m an old comic fanboy, but sick of the modern lighthearted comic movies (though my enjoyment of Avengers Endgame surprised me). I was interested in Joker as something different, but the Twitter debate about incels being incensed if it’s not recognized as a masterpiece and the SJW crowd branding anyone who wants to see it as women-hating man-boys has really turned me off of the whole thing. Remember when we could just go to the movies and decide for ourselves? Sheesh!
Thanks folks. She had a good time and was impressed. It was also nice to hold hands with someone at the movies, and squeeze as a non-verbal warning that there was going to more Ari Aster head trauma and o e if the funniest sex scenes I can recall.
It 2 next Monday. Then I’m gonna take some time to watch some stuff she wants to see. Beale Street. She loves Moonlight. Her daughters are non-binary and both my girls are LGBTQ but still working on their identities. If The Goldfinch is good we’ll see that. Oh, and Rambo Again. I’m surprised how excited I am for that.
The full JoJo Rabbit trailer is wonderful. This thing could end up being a complete misfire but I have high hopes. It’s gonna be hard to pull off though.
Mike, I’m as liberal and feminist as an imperfect middle aged man can be but I’m seeing it. I hate it when SJW is used as an insult and I’m not insulting them here but they don’t influence my art decisions. My main concern is that Phillips may not have the depth to do this in a meaningful way. David went into on Twitter. Glenn Kenney’s review actually kind of went too far in attacking Phillips. He is what he is. No need to be so personal. It’s gonna be really really interesting
ADDENDUM: an even bigger concern is that movie just isn’t necessary, and will be confused as canon by some. But then you dispute and argue canon in almost any superhero property
I am not so “brave” about goign to the movies in today’s climate. I don’t view it as a “terrorists win” choice either. IN the case of terrorism, we actually fight back. The idea is we then take action to ensure the attack in question doesn’t happen again (we can get into the actions themselves, consequences, etc but that’s not my point here). When it comes to mass shootings, we aren’t doing shit. The day after the shootings in Texas this weekend NEW gun laws went into effect in that state that makes it even easier to get your very own massacre kit. So going to a movie isn’t really an act of defience because there is no tide to turn here. We are all being fed into the NRA’s coffers one gunshot at a time and no one is doing a damn thing about it.
I’m not a shut in and have no plans to be one but you’re damn right I think twice about movies now. Public spaces, no, But a big box where I’m easily cut off from exits? Yup.
PS: Fuck the incels and the SJWs on Twitter going on and on about Joker. Fuck them all. Angry fucking energy vampires with nothing interesting to offer.
Damn, Twitter sounds exhausting. Are the people on the left decrying the film or are they just playing wack a mole shouting at incels when they pop their head up on twitter?
Maybe a few hundred people in the world have seen Joker and possibly a few dozen have written about it, and we have already come to a point where people have chosen sides and fanboys have drawn a line in the sand that this is above criticism? I’m all for people getting excited about and deconstructing films but damn wait for the release. Besides, aren’t there a few more important things to have opinions on this last weekend?
What I saw on Twitter was those either expressing ambivalence about or strongly disliking The Joker were attacked for not unabashedly loving and adoring it. Bill I also dislike SJW being used as an insult. Lazy Fox News nonsense.
y’all realise that you don’t HAVE to read advance twitter reaction/spats about ‘joker’ that cause you mental anguish and the vapours on one’s fainting couch, right? choices. just go to the fucking movie or don’t, christ on a cracker
I didn’t seek them out or spend all day reading them. Came across my feed or whatever Twitter calls it. But thanks I didn’t know I had a choice good to know. So weird to talk about a movie here of all places especially in a thread devoted to upcoming movies.
i’m not on twitter but i get that stuff comes across your feed (it was more this: “Remember when we could just go to the movies and decide for ourselves?” really, you can no longer go to the movies and decide for yourself? i lumped everyone in)
Well in that case I retract the snark.
no need, my bad. i type fast sometimes and fail to be as specific as i might
Most of the Twittering in my feed are lefties agonizing over righties obsessing over Joker. It’s the most glaring example of “Twitter is not real life” I’ve seen in a while, and we see this stuff every day. I don’t think the vast, VAST majority of everyone is either agonizing nor obsessing over what will be perceived as “oh god another comic book movie”.
I will choose to blame Trump. Every goddamn thing is up fro grabs now because we live in the twitter feed of a troll with the onset of dementia who happens to be president of the united states.
I tolerate Twitter because it can be a lot of fun, and there some musicians I adore who make themselves very accessible to me and others.
But “film Twitter” can be exhausting and political Twitter upsetting. I’ve culled my follow list, and I just block people left and right to try and keep from exposing myself to rage and negativity and insults.
leahnz, when I said “Remember when we could just go to the movies and decide for ourselves?” I don’t think I really meant that I can’t make up my mind, it was more that once I do, my liking or disliking of the film will be perceived one way or another by the folks I follow and who follow me on Twitter.
I’m active in some indie comic book communities, so my Twitter feeds are dominated by both the SJWs (I’m not sure what else to call them as that’s the pejorative term used by the other side for them) and the incels (though they’re mostly called comicsgaters as the pejorative term where I roam).
So, yes, if I say I like it or dislike it, I will squarely be judged by these stupid predecisions rather than just by why or why I don’t or do like the movie.
The last time I was at TIFF was 2014. Every time it’s about to start I get bummed that I’m not there but also feel lucky to have experienced it several times. As per usual this year’s lineup looks outstanding. I love this time of year so much.
I envy you Stella, attending TIFF is certainly on my bucket list, but I just can’t imagine when I will be able to swing it.
Fall used to be the magical movie time, Summer had passed and the kids had been put to bed. But now the discourse for the next six weeks will be about two murderous clowns.
Still, it is exciting to read the reviews, getting confirmation that my excitement for films like The Lighthouse is well earned.
Not looking forward to that discourse which will be hard to ignore without a media blackout but here’s hoping there’s enough to focus on to distract from it. Milwaukee’s film festival is in October and that’s always fun. And soon I’ll compile my list of all the horror movies/television I’m going to watch over the next 7 or so weeks.
Can’t recommend TIFF highly enough. Even 2-3 nights is more than worth it. Toronto is such a wonderful city and the fest is a blast. I’d be broke for a very long time after TIFF but it’s worth it.
mike, that’s a weirdly specific explanation, trying to wrap my head around this — you feel judged by these factions in your twitter world, so much so that it causes trepidation and a feeling of constraint when expressing yourself…(this doesn’t sound healthy to me, fuck them, run away. but this scenario/culture you describe is unfathomable to me, so who am i to say. sounds a bit shit tho)
This looks fantastic:
https://youtu.be/V5z3cr8AB5g
Goodness does it ever. Wasn’t on my radar at all. But that’s a hell of a trailer.
Looks like it drops 11/1
Have to say that while I am not religious, and I would rather watch paint applied directly to my eyeballs dry than watch a Christian Market film, but I do appreciate when people go to church in movies. It is such an everyday thing but its rare to see someone seek comfort in a church in a movie.
Well-said Hcat. I was raised Catholic and am now an atheist, but I appreciate movies that genuinely wrestle with faith and belief. Loved the first 30 or so minutes of First Reformed for that reason. As you said it’s rare but when done thoughtfully is very compelling. The Christian market stuff looks dreadful and best avoided like the plague.
Trey Edward Shults first came on my radar with “Krisha” which I thought was fantastic.
I liked/admired “It Comes At Night” without thinking it was a complete success.
This looks like Shults’ breakthrough into the big leagues.
Fingers crossed anyway–and those Telluride reviews were certainly rhapsodic.
P.S.= Was delighted to see that Krisha (Fairchild) herself has a small role in the movie as a high school English teacher.
lessons is fascism no. 371:
they know you know they’re lying and can’t do anything about it, this is the point – gaslighting and humiliation, knowing they’ll get away with it, pushing boundaries. sadism. psychopathy. malignant narcism.
no. 372:
the firehose effect (points to map of fascism: you are here)
‘waves’ looks heavy. i don’t know if my heart can take it at the moment
lessons is fascism no. 371:
they know you know they’re lying and can’t do anything about it, this is the point – gaslighting and humiliation, knowing they’ll get away with it, pushing boundaries. sadism. psychopathy. malignant narcism.
Oh… so you watched the CNN Climate Change Town Hall? 😉
Relax Pete I promise that no one is going to take away your plastic straw or make you eat impossible burgers. It would be refreshing to have a president who you know acknowledged the reality of climate change and didn’t use a sharpie to doctor a hurricane map.
To paraphrase Charlton Heston (this IS a movie blog):
“I’ll give you my plastic straw when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.”
Agggg, I am always amazed that while the right is made up of doomsday preppers and rapture watchers, when presented with Global Warming they shrug it off as fantasy. I mean this is a good time for their paranoia to actually be of good use. We have a president who had two wives that grew up behind the iron curtain and none of these lunatics float the idea that their his KGB handler? Even when their conspirator tendencies would benefit them they just sit it out. Completely worthless.
hey pete your winking ignoramus would be merely pathetic if you and your bugfucknuts ilk weren’t a part of this planet with the rest of us; unfortunately you are. to paraphrase the terminator (this IS a movie blog): fuck u, asshole
Stay classy Leah.
science and reality petey, classy AF
(this is not a game of manners, it’s the future of our planet. that you think you’re classy is also pathetic)
bloody hotblog and adding an edit, it takes me like 6 tries sometimes
Reality? Pray tell how tanking the USA’s economy with Bernie’s $16.3 TRILLION plan is going to do jack for the climate when you know damn well China & India won’t do anything.
You’re the pathetic one.
oh pete. bernie’s not president silly billy
I haven’t had a chance to Midsommer and I would like to give the DC a shot BUT the theaters showing it here in LA are showing it at 9:30! English or not, a 9:30 start time is not feasible for me for a nearly three hour movie (and with minmal trailers that means it will start around 9:45!)
sam, keep a joy buzzer in your palm and everytime you start to nod just lean your head into your hand.
Pete, You do NOT know damn well that China and India aren’t going to do anything. China’s major cities are often covered with a thick soup of smog, its citizens can’t be willing to continue to take that, besides being harmful to its people its an embarrassment in front of the world. You think China is going to be the holdout in cutting their emissions? How do we ask others to do what we are unwilling to do ourselves?
The way forward has to be more than nothing, because at this point not doing anything will be more expensive in the long run than just letting everything go to hell.
“when you know damn well China & India won’t do anything.”
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Electric car manufacturing, green energy, and carbon dispersal initiatives are high priorities on the Chinese Governments agenda. The Indian government has additionally serious concerns for the planet and has serious implementation plans for them. Read up, talk with people outside of your ideological cohorts and countrymen. Make a friend who isn’t an american. READ.
You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about here, Pete. Let’s get back to the movies.
CNN climate town hall transcripts are revealing and confirm of one thing for certain: US corp media is dangerously inept. questions from the audience for candidates were generally ok – some excellent – but the moderator’s Q’s were overwhelmingly inane RW talking points re burgers, lightbulbs, petrol cars, straws, etc, utterly useless.
what is alarmingly clear is that mainstream US ‘news’ media has abandoned their duty to accurately inform the public with factual information and framing, having capitulated to decades of squeaky-wheel right-wing loons ‘working the ref’, adapting their deep strain of anti-intellectualism and GOP framing as the default, allowing bold-faced lies to go unchecked and unchallenged, and presenting ‘balance’ rather than truth, facts and accuracy constituting a gross dereliction of duty. you in so much danger girl (as is the world)
Pete, we’re handing China a golden opportunity to be a world leader on something. Basically, this administration is creating a world power vacuum and guess who’s gonna fill it. Yup, the Middle Kingdom. And they’re already doing it. Found this quote on PBS:
“China recognizes that clean energy technology is the leading market opportunity of the 21st century. And just in the past decade it has become the largest user and largest producer and larger investor in renewable energy.
Just to give you an example, by 2020 China will have more solar power as much as five times the United States, and it has one of every three wind turbines in the world and it has become the largest market for electric vehicles.”
“Agggg, I am always amazed that while the right is made up of doomsday preppers and rapture watchers, when presented with Global Warming they shrug it off as fantasy.”
Wow. How the FUCK did everyone miss this? Hilarious.
Pete is every conservative now: proud of the dumb.
What is the Peanut butter Falcon and why isn’t even on my radar? What have I missed?
And kudos to Good Boys to sprinting past the “universal comedy sixty” that seems to be pretty routine for films of theat size. Always happy to see a little film chug along, especially for the big globe.
believe DP is a Dolphins fan and I just want to offer my condolences. Movie-wise all I’ve done all weekend is read reviews coming out of TIFF. Seems like lots of good stuff up there this weekend.
Fuck are all gonna do if Joker is actually good.
Be happy that it’s good? Seems logical.
Anyone watching Succession on HBO? I didn’t think any show could top The Office’s painful “Dinner party” ep, but Succession did it. I was actually yelling at my TV “OMG STOP STOP STOP PLEASE STOP” to virtually everyone.
And the show has to end with Greg…ory sitting on the iron throne, right?
Cousin Greg knows how to make an entrance. Oh sorry Gregory now. Succession is fantastic and last night’s was glorious.
Add me to the group of “Succession” fans.
I’ve been onboard since the first ep, and it just gets better (and more brilliantly bilious) every week.
It’s already one of my all-time top-ten HBO series.
Wish it got as much attention as, say, “GOT” or the well-nigh impenetrable “Westworld.”
The writing is just incredible. Last night I particularly enjoyed the political exchanges between Connor Roy and the Pierce family cousin he was supposed to be wooing as well as Kendall & Naomi and her takedowns of his family before and after their coupling. And poor Tom. Though not really. Those 60 minutes just fly every single week.
The dinner table scene is one of the most brilliantly written, painful to watch sequences I’ve ever seen. And so much of it is done with glances! Nothing over the top. But boy oh boy did each actor let you know what was up with their eyes. Such staggeringly good work. The quick FUCK YOURSELF glare Cherry Jones flashes at Shiv just as she looks away from Jones after accidentally insulting her stabbed me through the fucking TV screen. I thought the actor playing Ken was a zero initially (probably because he seems to play zeroes) but jesus has this guy burned it down this season.
As for the story itself: these are terrible people but my god did I fucking die inside on behalf of Shiv during the final negotiation with the Pierces. I’m so happy the writers haven’t softened Cox. Haven’t made him anything other than what he is: a brutal, amoral, inhumane piece of garbage.
Caught up w/ “It 2” after class today.
There’s a really good 90-minute movie there, but it’s buried under 80 minutes of padding/hubris.
There were two other people in the auditorium w/ me, and we all took pee breaks (at different times, lol).
Reminded me of (too many) streaming series episodes that run 48 or 81 minutes when 30 or 60 (minutes) would have sufficed.
I’m psyched for Halloween but have lost all interest in IT Dos.
Time to rewatch the Cleaver series! This is Halloween.. this is Halloween…
when enough are complicit
none dare call it treason
this convo has made me want to watch ‘succession’, which is not available here. shocker
Thought IT 2 was just fine. I was entertained the whole time, and the Richie/Eddie storyline carried me. Found it genuinely moving. But it’s not a world changer. There are several missteps, and the ending wasn’t what it was supposed to be.
But I had fun. And then I went home without being shot so that adds one star onto every movie I see. 4 out of 5.
I probably would have had more patience with “It 2” if I had seen it in bed with a remote control, Bill.
But I kept thinking, “Move it along; geez!”
Might give it a second look when it hits HBO in 8 months.
Seeing It 2 later today. Keeping reasonable expectations. I think Part One plays better at home. I had a better experience with it while watching alone in the comfort of my dark living room than I did when I saw it at a sold-out screening. Not exactly sure why. Maybe that’ll be the case with Part Two.
Anyone know where the first season of Succession landed, HBO often goes to Amazon but as the streaming universe realigns all bets are off. All this praise wants me to give it a looksee.
Surprised to see it came from Ferrell and McKay’s company. With this show getting a lot of press, the good will behind Booksmart and high anticipation for Hustlers, they seem to be having a pretty good year.
Season one of Succession is only available on HBO Now/Go unless you want to buy it then it’s available to purchase on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Fandango Now, and Google Play.
Does anyone else think it’s kinda odd that Searchlight is “previewing” “Downton Abbey” Thursday night when it doesn’t open until the 20th?
Wouldn’t a Sunday matinee have been more appropriate for its demographic?
Guess I’ll wait until Friday to see “Hustlers;” even later for “Goldfinch” whose meh reviews are a real bummer.
I hadn’t realized that McKay and Ferrell were involved in “Hustlers.”
Or Megan Ellison/Annapurna for that matter.
Very cool.
Ellison needs a hit wherever she can find one these days.
I hope this is a grand slam.
‘I hadn’t realized that McKay and Ferrell were involved in “Hustlers.’
They created a spinoff of their Gary Sanchez shingle called Gloria Sanchez so that producer Jessica Elbaum can concentrate on female lead films. So they might not have been involved in anything more than financing but still, throwing their weight behind these projects earns them a big gold star.
McKay and Ferrell have really become an impressively inclusive shingle with both their film and television work.
And who would have thought that former SNL cast members like Kristen Wiig, Molly Shannon, Bill Hader and, yes, Ferrell would emerge as some of the best, most consistently interesting/risk-taking actors of their generation?
I’d throw Sandler into the mix as well, but he only takes risks and does interesting work when he damn well feels like it.
It’s clearly not a priority for him.
Which is a shame because when he’s good, he can be great (e.g., “Meyerowitz,” “Punch Drunk,” etc.).
Makes you wonder what Gilda, Laraine, Dan, Belushi, Jane, Garrett, et al might have accomplished if they’d lived–or been given the Type A roles they deserved back in the day.
On that front, Eddie Murphy is getting career reviews for his Netflix Dolemite movie.
Would love that to translate into awards season love somehow/some way.
I am a pretty big fan of It. Think it improves on repeat viewings and is an imperfect but very good horror movie. I kind of can’t believe all of the same people made It Part 2. Not good. It isn’t scary and has too little of Pennywise. The narrative is so bloated and nothing is very compelling. You spend so much time with the adults and by the time they’re in the final battle I realized I was totally checked out. Did not care at all about what happened, who lived, who died, etc. Just wanted it to end. And then we’re treated to like four more incredibly saccharine endings. The child killings are disturbing and effectively staged, and there some solid laughs here and there, but overall this is a mess. Huge disappointment. I get why it’s making so much less money. Not nearly as good as the first.
SB: What did you think of the carnival-set opener w/ its brutal gay bashing?
I was repulsed, and my nausea kind of stuck around through most of the film.
But Xavier Dolan!?!
Wow.
The sound effects of the torture, beating and murder were especially crunchy and wet.
I was also pretty repulsed movieman. So long and graphic and brutal. And it’s so totally unnecessary. But the filmmakers pat themselves on the back for being progressive. Gross. It lingered with me, too.
SB: I’m glad I wasn’t just being hyper-sensitive.
I almost feared that it might have the reverse effect (of the filmmakers’ intent): that it might actually inspire similar gay-bashing murders.
Which might have contributed to my sense of unease and disgust.
I certainly did not enjoy the beating of Bev almost immediately after that, but I get that it’s at least supposed to contribute to her characterization and relates to her backstory. But the hate crime contributes nothing. It is gratuitous. Is it part of the book? I read it 25 years ago and don’t remember. Looking for some justification.
ITdeux is a bloated mess, i wish i hadn’t seen it.
the first part (IT the movie) was ok, not bad, kind of all downhill after georgie’s promising demise — and yet another missed opportunity to adapt king in a way that captures the dreadful spirit of the book by conveying the subterranean otherworldly menace of the unfathomable monster disguised as pennywise…also the way the film-makers egregiously bolstered the character of ben at the expense of mike, and the poured-on-so-thick-it’s-like-syrup added gender cliches re bev (including making her a damsel in distress who must be rescued by the boys when in fact she is the sling-shot slayer, or partial slayer as it happens) are nauseating, unforgivable bullshit — but at least IT (the first movie) manages a semblance of pizazz, some spooks/thrills and generally good perfs and chemistry from the young cast, which papers over script shortcomings. the second one is an uneven, poorly written bore and yet another sign of the four horsemen
ETA sorry just read the above: the gay-bashing in the movie is not in the book that i remember, it’s been a good long while since i read IT tho
Well-said leah. Scares and suspense are nonexistent. They use the same damn scare tactic over and over to the point of parody. Nothing near a character and they look away and then bam something’s in their face. So tiresome and lazy. It’s really remarkable how scare-free it is.
IT2 (looked it up): some dog-name guy who’s written a bunch of other shitty movies wrote IT2 all on his lonesome so, no surprise there! stop fucking hiring these hacks for the love of cupcakes, STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT
The gay bashing scene is in the book. There was an actual murder in Bangor that affected King.
I haven’t seen this yet but wasn’t this kind of inevitable? The childhood section in the book was so much more compelling than the adult stuff. From what I remember the adult section would tease revalations that would then be answered in the kids narrative, but the films being told in a linear fashion robs the story of a lot of its mystery.
I don’t recall the gay bashing from the book either but like the rest of you its been three decades (the characters don’t seem to remember that far back and they are in the story!). Its inclusion in the book and film makes sense since IT preys on the vulnerable and a gay man in the rural 80s would certainly fit in that category. But it seems like they really fumbled the execution of the scene. There is a distinct difference between a child being eaten by a clown and real life violence.
Thanks Pete. The inclusion makes a little more sense at least but it still doesn’t work at all and yeah the execution is fumbled. Plus in the movie the hate crime takes place in the present not the 80s.
holy testicle tuesday batman, it’s like when you leave derry the reader also forgets…fished out my ancient paperback of IT (thing’s fat AF, not quite the unabridged ‘the stand’ fat, that’s almost a cube) — adrian mellon and his beau don. one of the attackers who dumps him over the bridge describes the clown in the water biting adrian’s armpit. how does one forget that, adrian mellon
(i can’t type for shit in the middle of the night apparently — after handling/paging through the novel and a brief meditation on it, a rant on where this latest iteration’s second part in particular went so terribly awry occurs to me, on the morrow when there is light and rest)
UPDATE: Just want everyone to know that I still haven’t seen “Yesterday,” but it’ll *still* be at my second-run theater next week. So, fingers crossed, I might actually still see it on the big screen. The other three films playing there will be “Angry Birds 2,” “Aladdin” and “Toy Story 4.” I haven’t seen any of ’em, suspect I might like two of those three, but am citing them just to underline my point that it’s nice to have one movie playing that’s not like the rest. (But I repeat my earlier posts.)
I envy you having a second run theater. I loved those as a kid, and especially in college when money was tight. The carpet was dingier, no one seemed to be in charge, but seeing something at a second rate moviehouse was still preferable to home video (especially in the pan and scan days). No way I would have paid 6 bucks to see Cabin Boy, but when it hit the bargain theater the second week of its release we were able to plunk down the change we found in the ashtray of the car and have a night out.
Also great were dingy first-run theaters. Milwaukee had one in my neighborhood from the mid-90s through the mid-2000s. A tiny three-screen theater crammed into a small shopping complex. Screens were small. Seats uncomfortable. No leg room. Dim lighting. Sound not great. But they played first-run movies for cheaper than the multiplex and I could walk there. First movie I saw there was The Game two weeks after I moved to the city for college. Miss that.
on this 18th anniversary, in remembrance of all those who died and those who were there to assist in the terrible aftermath, a lovely thread of canine first responders to warm & break your heart. RIP
https://twitter.com/ClaysandBirds/status/1171634962908553217
“Thanks Pete. The inclusion makes a little more sense at least but it still doesn’t work at all and yeah the execution is fumbled. Plus in the movie the hate crime takes place in the present not the 80s.”
Haven’t seen the movie, but in the book the present is the 80s and the past is the 50s so having it occur in the “present” makes more sense than 2019 or whatever year the “present” is in the movie.
Present in the movie is I believe 2017.
—————— SPOILERS ————————
thinking about the underwhelming second IT, apart from the obvious structural/pacing problems and how conceptually pedestrian, what’s most striking is how thematically bereft and lacking in subtext it is (for example the groundwork is laid – albeit rather shittily – and then richie doesn’t even come out to his dear friends at any point, inexplicably poor writing).
even king’s best stories are iffy in adaptation because a major part of his appeal is his particular style of prose – which is mostly lost from page to screen – so sharply-written and executed theme, character, unique design and flair layered over plot in a live action iteration is vital.
one basic but crucial thematic element completely missing in this new version, which the losers club comes to realise through their trials and tribulations, is that there is something very wrong with derry itself. the place is contaminated and the people along with it: fearful, uncaring, apathetic, which dovetails with pennywise’s reign of terror, giving their escape from its clutches (and having to return) more weight. even the cheesy 80’s miniseries does this aspect better than the new incarnation. has the unfathomable beast poisoned the place and its people, or did the beast gravitate to derry BECAUSE there’s something not right with it, horrors come to it naturally…
so much time wasted on stupid, not-scary inconsequential stuff while theme – and simply telling a compellingly-woven story – are neglected. sigh-inducing mediocrity
ETA quick note: one of the people i saw the movie with tells me the full name ‘adrian mellon’ was said by mike at the chinese restaurant, i missed it, i had to pee
Just out of dumb curiosity…
Why does Constance Wu get top billing over Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers? Is J-Lo’s part a glorified cameo?
It appears that Wu has the main role and Lopez is more a Connery to her Costner.
But regardless, I would certainly argue that Wu is a much bigger star at this point, at least when talking films.
jlo and wu are both leads
Can’t wait to see Hustlers. Looks fantastic.
Good review leah.
Watched Tigers Are Not Afraid on Shudder last night. Damn. Certainly lives up to the hype. It’s really outstanding. But it is bleak as hell and bummed me out. Didn’t expect to shed tears. Absolutely worth a watch though. Real gut punch and haunting from start to finish. Easily one of my favorites of the year.
‘tigers are not afraid’ is a real gem but fucking grim, ‘haunting’ is right (glad i saw it last year when i could still handle depressing shit somewhat, i’m like a roasted drippy marshmallow now, just fall apart)
I’m looking forward to Hustlers now too. It’s the return of some talented stars (JLo, Julia Stiles) and the emergence of a few new ones too (Wu, Lizzo).
“But regardless, I would certainly argue that Wu is a much bigger star at this point, at least when talking films.”
Not sure I can see that. Crazy Rich Asians was huge, but it’s only one movie. J-Lo’s been around for a couple of decades now and everyone knows who she is, even if they don’t always go to her movies. I’ll bet many people who loved CRA couldn’t tell you Wu’s name. Hustlers may change that to some degree, but it’ll also raise J-Lo’s profile in the bargain.
fascism 102: show trials
(you are here. no going back so brace yourselves – express elevator to hell going down)
“Downton Abbey” may not be a great “Film”–it’s basically two episodes of the tube series strung together and projected on a big screen–but I sure had a great time watching it.
Like HBO’s recent “Deadwood” movie, it felt like an affectionate reunion with beloved old friends you haven’t seen in awhile.
My only real complaint is that Lily James was a no-show: not even a phoned-in cameo, dammit.
It’s as much of a bummer as Richard Dreyfuss sitting out “More American Graffiti.”
I enjoyed “The Goldfinch,” too.
Despite not having read the Donna Tartt book, I had no trouble following the fractured timeline(s) or becoming engrossed in the story/characters.
The 149 minute run time practically flew by…at least it did for me.
Typically great work from Roger Deakins, too.
The reviews are absurdly harsh, especially when you consider how most critics these days traditionally give a pass to fanboy fave raves for fear of appearing out of step with Millennial cultcha.
Sadly, the film’s ignominious failure will just stick another nail in the coffin of medium-budgeted, non-franchise studio fare.
Friday
9/13
(Estimates)
1 HUSTLERS
STX Entertainment
3,250 $13,100,000
— / $4,031
$13,100,000 / 1
2 IT: CHAPTER TWO
Warner Bros. (New Line)
4,570 $12,800,000
+220% / $2,801
$125,868,524 / 8
3 ANGEL HAS FALLEN
Lionsgate
3,076 $1,220,000
+137.1% / $397
$57,200,418 / 22
4 GOOD BOYS
Universal
2,736 $1,160,000
+169% / $424
$70,216,735 / 29
5 THE GOLDFINCH
Warner Bros.
2,542 $870,000
— / $342
$870,000 / 1
6 THE LION KING (2019)
Buena Vista
2,365 $836,000
+225.5% / $353
$531,273,775 / 57
7 OVERCOMER
Sony / AFFIRM Films
2,293 $750,000
+139.6% / $327
$27,002,768 / 22
8 FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
Universal
2,050 $680,000
+188.3% / $332
$166,227,320 / 43
9 THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON
Roadside Attractions
1,490 $535,000
+173% / $359
$13,657,642 / 36
10 SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
Lionsgate
1,494 $498,000
+331.5% / $333
$63,237,086 / 36
MM: Appreciate the measured GOLDFINCH take. I’d still like to see a pre-noon cheap show of it next week, but that probably won’t happen. I’m sure Deakins’ work will be diminished on the small screen, whatever imperfections affect the rest of the film.
Christian- I went in with severely diminished expectations because of the terrible reviews and was pleasantly surprised.
Maybe fans of the book will have a different experience.
The film has its flaws, but is hugely entertaining, looks great and has a handful of very strong performances (Jeffrey Wright is wonderful and might have been a Best Supporting Actor lock if the movie hadn’t tanked w/ critics and audiences).
What pisses me off is how mediocre franchise movies (I’m looking at you “Hobbs and Shaw”) get off w/ a pass or benign shrug by the majority of critics while ambitious films designed for adult audiences (hey there, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?”) invariably get pick-pick-picked to death and wind up dying on the vine.
A little perspective would be nice.
I’ll take “The Goldfish” over “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (which, truth be told, I mildly liked) any day.
On an unrelated front: I’m puzzled that no one has chosen to offer counterprogramming to either “Abominable” or “Joker.”
While I (sort of) get the latter–“Joker” should handily dominate the marketplace its opening weekend: current estimates are in the $90-million range–but “Abominable”? Really??
Surprised that Lionsgate didn’t move “Jexi” up two weeks. A non-brand kidflick seems like less grown-up competition than “Gemini Man” or the all-ages-friendly “Addams Family” ‘toon.
And why is October relatively light while November is ridiculously overstuffed?
Surely a few November studio titles would benefit from a less congested marketplace.