Sat, 2020-Sep-12 18:58 (BST)
I'm currently watching through all the seasons of Red Dwarf on Netflix. Any fans? For those that have never heard about it, it's a UK TV sci-fi sitcom that started in the late 80's, It's kind of like the Rick & Morty of its day.
I have mixed feelings going back. I do like the way they'll end an episode with no resolve though. Sometimes I feel we can work to hard too try and button up a plot when it's really not needed.
I saw an old film on Youtube, "In The French Style" with Jean Seberg as a young painter in Paris. Her father comes over from Chicago and tells her her paintings are rubbish. Thanks, Dad. Apart from that, it's not a great film.
Once a week I treat myself to ice cream & a movie, and tonight I was searching Tubi for a movie that was "ice-cream-worthy" (trying a new flavor, Gifford's Camp S'mores). I was browsing comedies and a title caught my eye, "Nana's Secret Recipe." I really loved this indie ensemble comedy featuring older women who lose their life savings in a Ponzi scheme and start up a bakery selling pot-filled sweets (in a town where weed isn't legal yet). They're all church ladies and a bit high-minded, which makes it even funnier that they're all quickly on board to sell their "extra-fiber" goodies for the medicinal benefits.
The story is zany and comedic but also balanced and touching. I sometimes get the impression from mainstream films with older women that they're trying to oversell them with relatability. The actors here are relaxed and genuine, and their chemistry is wonderful. It's briskly paced and directed with a light touch, and there are a few nice twists at the end.
The script by Yolanda Avery was discovered on the Blacklist by a producer after she'd posted it for over a year with no response. There's an interview with Avery about her experience on the Blacklist blog ("The Blacklist Interview: Yolanda Avery").
A quick catch up on my latest.
Wrecker/Juggernaut - I really wanted to like this since it's a Duel type of movie but I had to give up on it. I feel that the producers took on way more than they could chew when it came to getting permits and budgeting shooting days. I also think it's just weird to effectively remake Duel with a lower production value and without anything fresh in terms of story. I kinda feel bad for everyone involved. Maybe a lot went wrong or they had to rush it through.
Pretty Woman - This got me blubbing most of my way through it. I found it very sweet. Richard Gere's character is the one that suprised me the most. He was told to play him as being reactive rather than proactive and it really works. He feels so repressed. This all said, all I could think was how a film like this would only ever be a lifetime movie in today's market.
The Arena - More b-movie delights for me. This is basically a female Gladiator flick with tits and ass thrown in. The revolution during the games is actually pretty good with people throwing the corrupt leaders into the arena floor. What really stood out to me though is the equal lead time for Pam Grier. A black female lead in 1974. It goes to show where progression really comes from.
300 - Campy, ridiculous, full of toxic masculinity, but so shamelessly self-aware I admire it. Such incredible visuals all done via blue and green screen. I absolutely love the design and costuming of the enemies.
Last night we watched "Save Yourselves" on Kanopy. It's a comedy about two 30 somethings who decide to switch off all their communication gadgets and chill out in a cabin hideaway in order to reconnect with one another. Unknown to them, aliens, in the shape of fuzzy pouffes, have taken over the world. The aliens appear at the cabin but our couple seems immune (think of "Shaun of the Dead" but in upstate New York). The aliens drink ethanol to survive, so the pair escape in an old diesel burning jeep,only to have it jacked from them at gun point. They rescue a baby whose parents were killed by the long sticky tongues of the fuzz balls.When our heroes come face to fuzz with one of the pesky blighters, the guy gets struck by it's tongue, but is saved by the cell phone hidden in his shirt pocket. But SAVED is a relative term. It's the end of the world as they knew it. The three get trapped in a weird glass like net and are last seen floating away, high above the clouds. Two thumbs up. It really is funny, and very well played by two actors with wonderful chemistry and timing.
Loved "Red Dwarf"... watched when the series came out, many moons ago.
I think everything is becoming too CGI and we are losing a lot of sci-fi shows that actually had humor.
I never saw Red Dwarf so googled it. I recognized Craig Charles, a genuine "Scouse:, as Loyd from Coronation Street. Didn't realize he was also an author, and poet among his other talents. I'm not a big fan of cgi, but they say that due to pandemic that's the way of the future, acting in isolation in front of a green screen. No more epics, with a cast of thousands. No more Cecil B. DeMille's.
Kaye, hope you can watch Last Tango. Netflix took it off a while back. I begged them to put it back on, and eventually they did. I saw Le Weekend. Lindsay Duncan is one of my favorite actresses and Jim Broadbent is always worth watching. I agree that Jeff Goldblum was charismatic. Do you get Portlandia? It's a not so reverent spoof on Portland OR. by Fred Armisen of SNL fame. Jeff Goldblum was often a guest on the show, playing himself, tongue in cheek. Of course, the show predates all the nastiness currently being visited on Portland now.
I watched KILLER NUN last night and had absolutely no idea what was going on for most of it. It was banned in the UK for a while apparently but I can't fathom why.
These are some of the comments under The Killer Nun's trailer on youtube: This looks amazing: Blimey, Looks like the best film ever: Agreed: I don't want nun of that: Killer Nun Unholy Bride of Christ: Never heard of this: Sinful Brides of God: Origin of Valak (I need to look that one up): Best worst movie ever.
Made in 1979 starring Anita Ekberg, with way too much make- up. Unleash the Ghouls, Fright Fright Time were reviewing it on their Honest Review site. They laughed so much, it sounded as though Ricky Gervais was with them. If you've heard Ricky baiting Karl Pilkington you'll know how that sounded.
Elizabeth, re your comments "No more epics/No more Cecil B. DeMille": Yes, it seems CGI is limited in scope and often seems fake and manufactured. And those silent epics with casts of 14,000+ extras (and even greater numbers of animals) can be spellbinding (when I first saw "Cabiria" it put me in an altered state). But CGI is also safer and more humane and can be used inventively. "Ugly Betty" used CGI for some of the settings in Queens, but what at first seemed artificial had a storybook feeling after a while that added charm to scenes of Betty's family.
Cecil B. DeMille was notorious for risking the lives of actors, extras, and animals on his sets and many died because he took no precautions. In the flood scene in Ten Commandments he decided to just inundate all the participants and let them struggle to survive while the cameras rolled. Many were injured and drowned.
As the Waco Kid says in Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles," bragging about his past: "I must have killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille."
Oh no Kaye, how horrendous. I didn't know that about him. I should have picked David Lean as an example. Lawrence of Arabia, mesmerizing, that score, the shimmering desert and all the camels. I hope no camels were harmed during the filming.
Phantom of the Opera (2004).
Excellent set designs & score! Minnie Driver was great in a supporting role. Leads were both pretty good (tho I read somewhere Emmy Rossum was 16 when this was being filmed so that can be great too on a curve). Would recommend parents preview before having younger to mid teens watch. Verdict: PAID RENTAL
It is on YouTube's free movie section atm where I saw film.
Now I watch detective stories from a selection of YouTube (surprisingly, almost all are good). I'm thinking about watching "The Middle" or "Friends" AGAIN
from the newer series have not yet found anything worthwhile ...
Amanda, have you checked out Mom and Bob Hearts Abishola? Both newer Chuck Lorre series, great writing and characters.
That Thing You Do! (1996).
Some low-key characters & plot action. Liked a few of the things it didn't do (possible minor-spoilers)... I expected the original injured-drummer to be bitter/envious when the band got popular without him but instead he was supportive, expected the band to quasi screw-over their first manager to get with a big fish or for first manager to be a bit sleazy but instead he was a nice/capable small-level guy who just sold their contract to big fish in order to help band out. Good stuff.
Potential content-concern: a few convos with sexual innuendo centering on/from band. Their hit song was pretty catchy, which is good cause it played like x10 over the runtime. lol The bassist hangin' with military dudes at Disneyland was funny, the repeated "I am Spartacus" stuff and two "kissing" mentions were a little second-hand cringe.
Verdict: FREE TELEVISION
Also available now via YouTube free section, so that works out!
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Elizabeth, yes Lawrence of Arabia is amazing and truly in the epic style. So much meticulous attention to realism in the settings and period details. Check out the trivia section for the film on IMDb for some incredible stories on the production (3,000 Bedouins were hired for the desert sequences to erase footprints in the sand with palm fronds). I don't know if camels were harmed but they did bite some of the actors, including Peter O'Toole. The cast and crew braved heatstroke, water shortages, and producer Sam Spiegel faking heart attacks whenever they went over budget. Not exactly a paragon of the Bechdel test...but a masterpiece of cinema.
There's a great silent film with Lilian Gish, The Wind, set in a desert during windstorms. The effects of blowing sand were created on location in the Mojave Desert by eight propeller planes that generated fierce winds. It's a haunting film and considered Gish's best performance. Director Victor Sjostrom also made HE Who Gets Slapped, an early silent with Lon Chaney. It was the first film released by newly formed studio MGM. I discovered it a few years ago when it screened on TCM and I was stunned by its surrealism and savage humor. The creepy, swaying little clowns commenting on the story like an ancient Greek chorus are unforgettable.
I re-watched Jeepers Creepers the other day. I'm not usually into horror but it do like it. I didnt know that the director found out he'd had a million cut from their budget when they started shooting. It explains the rather anti-climatic ending.
I'm also part way through What Have They Done To Your Daughters but mainly for the soundtrack.
I also saw Easy Riders for the first time last night and was sorely disappointed. I massively respect the impact the film had with the auteur movement and that it gave a voice to a rising subculture but it is, without a doubt, a messy ad-libbed film with a few great moments. I find it bizarre that it gets held in such high accolade when so many other b-movies at the time where doing the same thing. Actually, I don't find it bizarre really at all. It's just the mechanics of pop culture in action. It has however, caused me to watch the Easy Riders, Raging Bulls documentary which is refreshing me on the content of the book it's based on.
Never saw Jeepers Creepers.
This weekend, I re-watched GOODFELLAS. I forgot how much I loved that movie. I thought the director made some really good choices visually. And there's a lot of ad-libbing that really works with the characters and the overall feel of the film. Made me wanna be a mobsters wife. (For about 5 seconds.)
Also watched on Netflix: CRIME SCENE: THE VANISHING AT THE CECIL HOTEL. Sooo well done. The writer was excellent at luring the viewer into a POV, breaking it down, and then introducing another POV. I thought it was thorough and fair.
I'm kind of a geek when it comes to true crime.
I recently watched the 2019 horror film 'Ready or Not', which I kinda loved. From a lesser actor than Samara Weaving it might not have landed. I think the horror/comedy combo is something that a lot of writers want to do, but because they're tonal opposites it can be a real hit or miss. I think it benefited by not taking itself too seriously.
I saw the 'twist' coming a mile away, but that didn't take away from the overall experience. And then there was the second twist, which made my whole week. The final line of dialogue really cemented it as a masterpiece. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet (provided horror is your thing).
You'd make a good mol, Joleene. I only watched Goodfellas for the first time relatively recently and loved it. You know my thoughts on Hotel Cecil though!
I'm going to keep an eye out for Ready or Not, Lucy.
I just don't seem to be able to get into anything at the moment. Watched Bell From Hell which is (surprise surprise) an old b-movie. Not much fun and very weird but really spooky to read about how the director died on the last day of shooting when he fell from the bell tower the story is focused around.
I re-watched Payback. I love that movie so much. It's fascinating how it got remade before it was released and there's lots to learn from that production story.
I watched half of Air Force One, mainly for Gary Oldman but I found myself caring more about the villain than the hero LOL.
There was a recent interview with Kim Novak in The Guardian ("I Had to Leave Hollywood to Save Myself") that reminded me how much I love her movies. She was wonderful in some underrated comedies: Billy Wilder's Kiss Me, Stupid, Boys' Night Out, The Notorious Landlady (with Jack Lemmon), Bell, Book, and Candle (watch it every Halloween!). Nice dish on some of her leading men, including Frank Sinatra; James Stewart was her favorite costar.
CJ, re your thoughts on Easy Rider, have you seen Albert Brooks's Lost in America? It sends up Easy Rider and it's hilarious.Yuppies quit their jobs, sell their house (the profit is their "nest egg"), and take off in a huge Winnebago to explore America ("We want to touch Indians!" says Brooks's character David Howard). He tells his wife that it will be "just like Easy Rider" but with a nest egg. And throughout their misadventures he tells people he's a dropout from society just like Easy Rider.
I Care a Lot is #1 on Netflix's Top Ten list, and deservedly so. Rosamund Pike plays an utter B****but with good manners, polish and charm, so convincingly, and Peter Dinklage has the most expressive eyes and facial mannerisms. There are no heroes, only victims and villains, and even the victims are villains. The excellent screenplay, written by J. Bateman,had so many twists and turns. It's witty and funny.
Kaye, I've not seen that and I'll keep an eye out for it. Interesting about Kim Novak. Sounds similar to what Lisa Jakub has been talking about.
TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970) Would be equally @ home in a history or communications class. A few nicely-done subtle moments too, like the look a U.S.-Japanese airman gets after the Pearl Harbor attack is launched. Verdict: PAID RENTAL
I checked out Kiss Kiss Bang Bang finally. I was putting it off as I didn't think much of The Nice Guys and figured maybe Shane Black had lost it since Lethal Weapon. Well, I thought it was great and a load of fun. I'm also starting to really admire Val Kilmer.
Yeah, I was sorry to read a couple years back about Val Kilmer's health issues. I'm sure he'd probably be more involved in projects today otherwise (tho he does have stuff goin' on).
I might actually watch the Prince Harry & Meghan Markle interview this weekend (heh) but I hope it's mostly not gossip-type questions.
I re-watched Gladiator last night. It feels quite small now compared to a modern blockbuster. Effects are very noticeable. Joaquin Phoenix is just incredible.
I've been re-watching Monty Python. It's an antidote to the blahs. Still funny all these years later. For the same reason I've been hunting through YouTube for clips from the marvelous comedy, The Birdcage. Rainman, another wonderfully funny film, is back on Netflix. Gene Hackman, Robin Williams, Grahame Chapman and Terry Jones, gone but not forgotten.
Jean Harlow, was born on this day in 1911. She had a meteoric rise to stardom, but tragically died, aged 26, of kidney failure in 1937.
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