Movies

[yur2die4]

I don't like how when Jabba was strangled at the end like that, Bob Newhart suddenly woke up in bed and the movie was over.

So does this mean episodes 1-7 were all just a dream in Newhart's head??? Is it because he's a psychologist? Are we all just a dream in Bob Newhart's head???? Are all the spaceships and costumes and fandom for nothing??!!

[sporkles]

You just blew my mind.

[stringtapper]

I'm loving the theory that Snoke is actually Darth Plagueis. That could really tie all three trilogies together in a cool way.

[beats me]

Saw Trainwreck. To my surprise the funniest parts were LaBron James as himself. I don’t follow sports but I know who he is. It was funny seeing him as a cheapskate, relationship counseling Downton Abbey fan. Good to see him put the ego aside and being capable of making fun of himself and pro athletes in general.

[beats me]

Saw Star Wars. Enjoyed it. Only real gripe is the speed at which people get emotionally attached to each other after very little time together. And in the general space scifi sense, the unrealistic and unnecessary epic scale they build ships and other structures. And really, who builds a bridge over an abyss without a safety rail? Somebody needs to write Paul Blart: Space OSHA Inspector.

[lowshelf]

STAR WTF AWAKENS

Who reforms, regroups or repeats anything, anywhere, ever, and calls it something like the FIRST ORDER???

It would have been okay if they blew shit up and Poe Dameron goes, "THAT'S 20% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER, BITCHES!!!"

[H20nly]

I didn't like "the first order" as a name either... but Lucas wrote the books, no?

[lowshelf]

I didn't like "the first order" as a name either... but Lucas wrote the books, no?

Maybe it's all explained in Aftermath or other tie-in novels and whatever. Perhaps they crowdsourced the rebranding Maybe the movie plot is explained there too.

Speaking of Lucas I saw "More American Graffiti" last year after years of wanting to find it. Only to slowly realise I'd already seen it as a kid and it really wasn't worth the effort. Somehow this new one made me feel like *everything* after the original Star Wars, or for me post-Battle of Hoth, is really just "More American Graffiti"...

[Jo_Pearson]

Saw Room. It was OK. I'm surprised it's up for several Oscars. But maybe I shouldn't be given what typically wins.

[beats me]

Saw The Revenant. Pretty good but unevenly paced. I know it’s based on a true story but with the usual Hollywood treatment there’s probably at least a dozen times Leo would have been dead in reality. By the end of it he’s still recovering from his original life threatening injuries but still has nature kick the shit out of him for the better part of 2 hours.

[Tarekith]

I thought it was awesome myself, really enjoyed that one and was glad to see it was done the way it was.

[beats me]

I’m glad I saw it on the big screen. Speaking of which, the same theater I saw it in a couple days a week is screening classic movies from the 40’s – 80’s. They had a nice commercial for the movies they will be showing over the next month which made you realize it would be cool to see them on the big screen. Not even really epic movies but everything just looks better on the big screen and you’re free from all the distractions you get watching movies at home. Of course this type thing is quite common in LA, but cool to see them doing it locally.

[oblique strategies]

You are correct, Sir. The big screen is where it's at.

I remember going to see 'The Abyss' on opening night. The theater was packed. While waiting for the movie to begin I started to think that maybe coming to see it on opening night was a mistake, the crowd was chattering away & it was really quite noisy. Then the movie started & it was dead silent for 45 minutes to an hour! Everyone was absolutely riveted.

I've seen 'Blade Runner' 21 times, & each time was in a theater. Some films just benefit from the full treatment.

Even non-spectacles can benefit from the larger than life treatment. The Castro Theater in San Francisco just had their annual Film Noir festival. One of the flicks shown was the classic 'In A Lonely Place' which stars Humphrey Bogart in one of his darkest roles. Bogart gives a frightening speech wherein he imagines how a woman was murdered. His true inner darkness emerges, spills out across the screen, & pours straight into the audience. I thought of how intense it must have been for audiences back in 1950 to have seen a beloved actor (& hero) in a hauntingly disturbing portrait of a bitter and angry man. It’s one of his finest performances. Seeing this icon transform, like Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde, on a giant screen is truly spectacular!

[Tarekith]

I saw The Force Awakens in the theater and it had subtitles for french and german across half the screen the whole time.

[beats me]

Even non-spectacles can benefit from the larger than life treatment. The Castro Theater in San Francisco just had their annual Film Noir festival. One of the flicks shown was the classic 'In A Lonely Place' which stars Humphrey Bogart in one of his darkest roles. Bogart gives a frightening speech wherein he imagines how a woman was murdered. His true inner darkness emerges, spills out across the screen, & pours straight into the audience. I thought of how intense it must have been for audiences back in 1950 to have seen a beloved actor (& hero) in a hauntingly disturbing portrait of a bitter and angry man. It’s one of his finest performances. Seeing this icon transform, like Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde, on a giant screen is truly spectacular!

They are playing some Humphrey Bogart movie at the theater this month. Even with just the preview there was something comforting about seeing him up there on the big screen in his black and white greatness.

After that preview and the fact that my Netflix DVD queue is fairly sparse at this point it’s going to inspire me to do a little Googling for best pictures based on decade, maybe starting at the 30’s and spend a month or so watching movies from each decade.