Saw HBO’s original film Oslo this afternoon and highly recommend it. It’s based on the Tony award winning Broadway play about the secret talks in Oslo, Norway that led to the Oslo Peace Accords, signed in 1993. It is far from being a “dry” drama about the endless peace talks in the Middle East that almost always lead to nothing. Instead, we get a crackling good drama with terrific acting. Check it out. 9/10
A really nice change from Marvel and DC fare. ;-) The DVR. The one we have from Google Fiber has a terabyte. I've watched video tech evolve from almost nonexistent, except for elaborate equipment setups way beyond the means of nearly everyone, to the VHS camera. First with the camera connected by a cable to a large VHS recorder (my first video camera was one of those), then the slow shrinkage of tape media. Today? We can all simply use our smart phones with a couple of cheap accessories. Blows my mind when I think about it..
I haven't watched M*A*S*H the movie in years and years, but I saw it was coming on and dvr'd it, will probably fall asleep watching it or Oslo tonight.
I doubt if you’ll fall asleep watching Oslo, but it’s worth watching awake. Go with M*A*S*H? Have you ever seen The Last Seduction? 7.5/10 If you haven’t and you have Amazon Prime, check it out. Linda Fiorentino plays a femme fatale like no other and she’s sizzling. It’s a film noir from 1994 and there was serious talk of a Best Actress Oscar for her, but because it was shown first on HBO, the Academy wouldn’t allow the nomination, something that wouldn’t have happened today. The studio behind the picture even sued the Academy over it, but lost. The critics raved about her performance. Heck, Roger Ebert gave the flick (and Linda) 4 stars. Bill Pullman is a supporting actor and very good in an unusual role.
Always Be My Maybe: 6.8/10 . It's on netflix. Enjoyable Romcom. It was much more watchable than the tragic crazy rich Asians. I was definitely not expecting the Keanu cameo. It made the whole movie work. One of my favorite cameos in recent memory. Matthew in Wolf of Wall street, Tom cruise in Tropic Thunder and Keanu in this.
My son and I liked Brightburn. It is like if Superman came to earth and was evil. Hope they make a follow-up but not sure if the movie made enough to justify it
For those of you that have HBO/Max, HBO has the Turner Classic Movies catalog at a "hub" there. I've been enjoying watching, mostly re-watching, remastered classics. Anyway, I took a look at Mashable.com a while ago, and they've made a truly excellent list of "The 23 greatest classic films on HBO Max." I could argue, but it is a good list. A reason for their selection is included, well written by various people, and all but one includes the trailer. Best I can tell, they aren't listed in order of "which is best," illustrated by film #1. Can anyone guess which film I would have included, one they have in TCM's astonishing catalog? 1. Rocky (1976) 2. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 3. The Great Dictator (1940) 4. Casablanca (1942) 5. Singin' in the Rain (1952) 6. Superman: The Movie (1978) 7. The Wizard of Oz (1939) 8. Stagecoach (1939) 9. Cabaret (1972) 10. North by Northwest (1959) 11. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1954) 12. Harlan County, USA (1976) 13. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 14. Rashomon (1950) 15. Elevator to the Gallows (1958) 16. Touki Bouki (1973) 17. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 18. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) 19. Pather Panchali (1955) 20. Night of the Living Dead (1968) 21. Watership Down (1978) 22. Cléo From 5 to 7 (1962) 23. Citizen Kane (1941)
I saw another movie with terrible reviews that turned out to be pretty good -- As Above, So Below. It's an interesting adventure/ horror movie loosely based around Dante's Inferno -- currently on Netflix 7.1/ 10.
I have a habit of listening to songs that I really like over and over and over again. There are a certain few movies that I will watch in the same manner. A movie that I recently came across a few weeks ago, even though it was released in 2009, is El Secreto de Sus Ojos which one the Oscar for best foreign film. I haven't stopped watching it since. I would put it up there with City of God as one of the best films to ever come out of South America. But where City of God was very gritty and in your face, El Secreto de Sus Ojos captures two Argentine characteristics exceptionally: their humor and the passion which either drives them crazy or towards violence...9/10.
The Roads Not Taken (Javier Bardem, Elle Fanning) The main character, Leo, played by Javier Bardem, suffers from a severe case of dementia. He would spend his day in bed, dreaming of difficult past memories, if not for his daughter, played by Elle Fanning, who must get him to an appointment with his eye doctor. First though, he must get out of bed, find the courage to walk outside his building in NYC, and go for a taxi ride! If you're not thinking I've got to see this in IMAX, let me share this while I'm at it: Leo is from Mexico and in his past, you guessed it, he spoke Spanish--so you've got subtitles to follow, along with memories and flashbacks that may or not be relevant to Leo and his little present day adventure. So we've got a guy with dementia that is living, at least for much of the movie, in the distant past. Did I mention that these past memories are painful? Or that Leo looks pretty much the same age throughout the movie, give or take some facial hair? Sigh. The confusing story does fall into place and there is somewhat of a satisfying ending, of sorts, but for some reason the director throws in a true WTF moment at the very end. All that said, I'm giving it an 8/10 and my recommendation. It's not an easy watch, but it's superbly acted and, God damn, something we're all probably going to experience, one way or another. Think Rain Man without the light hearted moments or feel good stuff. A clip (Warning: it's literally one of the most exciting and dramatic scenes in the movie):
Brazil (1985). Sort of a quirky dystopian sci-fi comedy. Absolutely worth watching if you're in to those types of movies. I did a search and this one got a mention 10 years ago (page 106) by @DreamShook. He gave it a B and I'd concur with that.
"In The Heights" HBOMAX- 4/10. Did Zack Snyder direct his first musical? It feels like 4 hours long but the running time is 2 hours and 23 minutes. Why do all these Latino movies take place in New York or California? These young adults are flipping out because a "heatwave" of 82 degrees is causing chaos in the city. So they sing and sing and sing and sing and sing. I like musicals but when there is very little dialogue it can get boring quickly. There is no place for that. Leave that ish on Broadway for $200 a ticket. Don't bring it to my screen. Some of the musical numbers were catchy tho. Melissa Barrera from "Club Cuervos" and "Vida" made this worth watching for about 70 minutes.
Thunderstruck with Kevin Durant is a good family movie. My kids play basketball and found this entertaining.
Watched Shazam on HBO Max. Better than I thought it would be. Had some funny parts. If there will be sequels they probably need to do them darker though my recollection of the comics they were more lighter on the violence. 6/10
