What are we watching now?

[mbenigni]

I started this but got kind of put off by the beginnings of it and what the tone was going to be moving forward. Is it worth a watch you think? Your description sounds good.

I absolutely loved it. Like, binged it in a few sittings, finished it, told the wife, "If you decide you want to see this, I'll watch it with you again right now" kind of loved it. But... while I think the performances and execution all around were superb, it might be a YMMV kind of thing. For my wife's benefit, I immediately started making disclaimers about its darker aspects, because I was afraid she'd put it on in the background expecting a light comedy.

 

[State of Epicicity]

On a more serious tip; watched "Klute" over the past few nights.

All The President's Men is by Pakula too, and that is one of my favorite films. I saw Klute a while ago, but I remember not really liking it. I thought it was overreaching how she always answered the phone like a high powered executive. One cool thing I remember was that Fonda had them put up a picture of JFK in her room to imply that she had been one of his mistresses. But if you did enjoy Klute, I'd be curious to see what you'd think of All The President's Men in contrast. That film is a masterpiece in every way! This is making me want to revisit Klute now. I know my wife really likes Donald Sutherland.

 

[JiveTurkey]

All The President's Men is by Pakula too, and that is one of my favorite films. I saw Klute a while ago, but I remember not really liking it. I thought it was overreaching how she always answered the phone like a high powered executive. One cool thing I remember was that Fonda had them put up a picture of JFK in her room to imply that she had been one of his mistresses. But if you did enjoy Klute, I'd be curious to see what you'd think of All The President's Men in contrast. That film is a masterpiece in every way! This is making me want to revisit Klute now. I know my wife really likes Donald Sutherland.

Sutherland is good in this movie but his chemistry with Fonda is a bit awkward at times. Dude is a bit too gawky for the role. But at other times; that's why it works. I know I started "All the President's..." a while back but didn't finish it. I need to give it a go.

 

[State of Epicicity]

missed most of Jane Fonda's stuff

One cool one with her is The China Syndrome. Julia and Coming Home are good too, but not because of her haha. I've never thought she was a great actor; I love her dad, really. Pretty much anything Henry Fonda did was gold, whether he was in early noir or my favorite film Fail-Safe (1964), he had magic to him. I always want to like Jane Fonda, but really I don't like the acting of any of the kids; like Peter Fonda is damn near unwatchable to me.

It's this weird thing with the kids of great actors; they can often have so little feel compared to the parents. Like, Kirk Douglas and George C. Scott are great, but Michael Douglas doesn't even compare and Campbell Scott is made of wood.

Kirk Douglas once said that, unlike his kids, he had the advantage of growing up in abject poverty.

 

[JiveTurkey]

One cool one with her is The China Syndrome. Julia and Coming Home are good too, but not because of her haha. I've never thought she was a great actor; I love her dad, really. Pretty much anything Henry Fonda did was gold, whether he was in early noir or my favorite film Fail-Safe (1964), he had magic to him. I always want to like Jane Fonda, but really I don't like the acting of any of the kids; like Peter Fonda is damn near unwatchable to me.

It's this weird thing with the kids of great actors; they can often have so little feel compared to the parents. Like, Kirk Douglas and George C. Scott are great, but Michael Douglas doesn't even compare and Campbell Scott is made of wood.

Kirk Douglas once said that, unlike his kids, he had the advantage of growing up in abject poverty.

As dumb as this sounds; I did not know Campbell Scott was George C. Scott's kid. Looking at him with that in mind; zero idea how I didn't connect those dots


I am pretty much mid 70's forward when it comes to film. So some things prior to that era are too dated for my tastes. Klute is in a weird spot in this. The disco scenes are wayyyyyy too dated for me. But the rest of it is good.

 

[State of Epicicity]

As dumb as this sounds; I did not know Campbell Scott was George C. Scott's kid. Looking at him with that in mind; zero idea how I didn't connect those dots


I am pretty much mid 70's forward when it comes to film. So some things prior to that era are too dated for my tastes. Klute is in a weird spot in this. The disco scenes are wayyyyyy too dated for me. But the rest of it is good.

Oh, I just thought of another one that's just great, but it's too early for you then: The Chase with Marlon Brando. Still lots of great film past 1975. I used to feel the same way, but Pressure Point (1962) changed my mind about 60s film. In Cold Blood feels way more modern and sophisticated than most films ever. But you have to find the good stuff; it's definitely a journey. I have a 15 minute rule that helps: if a film has nothing good about it in the first 15 minutes, I leave it and try something else. A good bet is to follow good directors.

Plenty of sophisticated filmmaking from the 30s forward, really. Even some silent film will blow your mind, like Metropolis. But like I said, there's still plenty of greatness after the mid 70s too.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

As dumb as this sounds; I did not know Campbell Scott was George C. Scott's kid. Looking at him with that in mind; zero idea how I didn't connect those dots


I am pretty much mid 70's forward when it comes to film. So some things prior to that era are too dated for my tastes. Klute is in a weird spot in this. The disco scenes are wayyyyyy too dated for me. But the rest of it is good.

It is NOT in the file! IT IS NOT! *slams fist*

 

[State of Epicicity]

It is NOT in the file! IT IS NOT! *slams fist*

God I love that film. My wife and I quote it constantly.

 

[State of Epicicity]

It is NOT in the file! IT IS NOT! *slams fist*

I almost forgot that film is the source of my avatar too, now that I think of it haha.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

God I love that film. My wife and I quote it constantly.

View attachment 22369

So do I. "Would you shut up about Eddie?" "We're FINE!"

When I later watched, uh, whatever the fuck it was called with George C Scott in a haunted house, I found it dull as hell. It wasn't bad enough the film was slower than grandma with an arthritic hip and bad knees, but the acting was just as comatose as the film. Dreadful, dreadful movie. That film is definitely NOT fine!

 

[spawnofthesith]

Out of TV again, so rewatching black mirror

I watched the second season of "Them" on amazon. Was not as good as the first season imo

 

[JiveTurkey]

Out of TV again, so rewatching black mirror

I watched the second season of "Them" on amazon. Was not as good as the first season imo

I thought it started strong AF. SUPER creepy. But the need to tie it back was not necessary, imo.

 

[Aelred]

Fwiw, Cat Ballou was my favourite Jane Fonda flick.

 

[State of Epicicity]

So do I. "Would you shut up about Eddie?" "We're FINE!"

When I later watched, uh, whatever the fuck it was called with George C Scott in a haunted house, I found it dull as hell. It wasn't bad enough the film was slower than grandma with an arthritic hip and bad knees, but the acting was just as comatose as the film. Dreadful, dreadful movie. That film is definitely NOT fine!

"He had these same symptoms for years." A lot of people don't realize William Peter Blatty was mainly a comedy writer before The Exorcist. They don't realize how damn funny he was.

I love: "I once spent a year hearing children's confessions and I wound up a lemon drop junkie. The little wierdos keep breathing it on you, along with all that pot, and between the two of them, I've got a feeling it's probably addictive."

I think the Scott film you're talking about is The Changeling. I remember hating it, but I haven't seen it since the 90s. I think he's great, but he was in a lot of movies of questionable quality, to put it politely haha.

 

[Aelred]

I had no idea Blatty wrote the screenplay for A Shot in the Dark, my personal favourite Inspector Clouseau (Pink Panther) movie.

 

[State of Epicicity]

I had no idea Blatty wrote the screenplay for A Shot in the Dark, my personal favourite Inspector Clouseau (Pink Panther) movie.

Haha! I didn't know that either! I'll have to check that one out.

 

[laxu]

Finished watching Elvis. That movie is frankly crap. Austin Butler does a good job as Elvis, but Tom Hanks phones it in and is terrible in every scene. Priscilla Presley is barely a character in this.

The movie is cut together in a way that makes it really awkward to follow, varying between a fever dream and a badly cut music video. It seems like a complete waste because pretty much every scene is beautifully built otherwise. The movie looks great, but got butchered on the editing room floor.

The absolute biggest shit decision in this movie is playing freakin' 2010s rap over several scenes. Why? Because those scenes had black people in them? I just can't understand why they would do that in a movie about a musician who lived decades before hiphop got invented.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

"He had these same symptoms for years." A lot of people don't realize William Peter Blatty was mainly a comedy writer before The Exorcist. They don't realize how damn funny he was.

I love: "I once spent a year hearing children's confessions and I wound up a lemon drop junkie. The little wierdos keep breathing it on you, along with all that pot, and between the two of them, I've got a feeling it's probably addictive."

I think the Scott film you're talking about is The Changeling. I remember hating it, but I haven't seen it since the 90s. I think he's great, but he was in a lot of movies of questionable quality, to put it politely haha.

That dialog is hilarious.

That is the film. There is a difference between a "slow burn" film and a "no burn" film. That film is the latter.

 

[mbenigni]

Finished watching Elvis. That movie is frankly crap. Austin Butler does a good job as Elvis, but Tom Hanks phones it in and is terrible in every scene. Priscilla Presley is barely a character in this.

The movie is cut together in a way that makes it really awkward to follow, varying between a fever dream and a badly cut music video. It seems like a complete waste because pretty much every scene is beautifully built otherwise. The movie looks great, but got butchered on the editing room floor.

The absolute biggest shit decision in this movie is playing freakin' 2010s rap over several scenes. Why? Because those scenes had black people in them? I just can't understand why they would do that in a movie about a musician who lived decades before hiphop got invented.

Yeah, the whole thing annoyed the crap out of me, too. There was a lot of hype, so my expectations were high. I was hoping for an authentic biopic where I might actually learn something new about Elvis and the people/ events that surrounded him. Instead, a 3-hour long, oversaturated music video that somehow manages the feat of being both superficial and confused. And yeah, the hip-hop vibe felt like pandering - a desperate effort to be relevant to some part of the target audience (people younger than me?) that wasn't already poised to love anything Elvis.

The screenplay didn't even threaten to get interesting until Elvis starts to come off the rails in Vegas, but this stretch lasts through all of 5 minutes of screen time, and then show's over. They could have borrowed a few minutes from the "Will he or will he not play Santa Claus is Coming to Town Chapters 1-5" segments that comprise the middle 4 or 5 years (real time) of the movie.

The strangest part was having cued up 3 hours of bad will toward the whole spectacle, and then being hit with stock footage of the real king. Between the effortless authenticity of his performances, and what an unrecognizable mess he looked at the end... the juxtaposition was enough that I had to blink back some tears.

P.S. I didn't really think Austin Butler was well-cast for this role. I found him vaguely distracting, and kind of one-note. Also - though not his own fault - way too much makeup. Like watching a Broadway musical from the stage.

 

[mbenigni]

I'm so senile, I forgot I'd already posted a "review" of this film in this very thread:

What are we watching now?

Watched HBO's Elvis over the course of the last two nights. (Spoilers ahead.) I'll start by simply saying that it wasn't what I was expecting. Or hoping for. I was hoping for a revealing, period-accurate biopic. The first half of the movie is more like a continuous montage of 50's kitsch mixed...

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