Saturday, March 26, 2016

Weekend Open Thread

Why did you say Martha?

Happy weekend, everyone.

We'll be posting our Batman v. Superman podcast on Monday, so there will plenty of opportunity to discuss the film in those comments if you're so inclined. If you want to talk about this weekend, just try to be sensitive about spoilers for those who have not seen it.

Otherwise, feel free to talk about anything you like, whether it's justice or dawn or justice dawning or pancakes.

67 comments:

  1. Just watched Stargate on a whim. For the whole movie I couldn't get past the strangeness of seeing James Spader playing someone other than Alan Shore. I don't think I'll ever be able to see him in anything without thinking of his Boston Legal character. Am I alone in this?

    Also, I watched 1984's The Natural the other day and hated it. Nothing in that movie worked for me, from the overly simplistic characters (the good guys are good and the bad guys so very bad) to Redford playing a 20 year old at the beginning to the ridiculously over the top baseball heroics. Sorry to the fans but this one wasn't for me.

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    1. Come on The Natural is great. Do you just not like fairy tales or baseball? Do you like Field Of Dreams?

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    2. I still kinda like Stargate, tge Directors cut is a little darker and is my preferred cut

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    3. I like fairy tales when they're told well. I didn't think The Natural was. I liked Field of Dreams (though it's been a while) and I like some baseball movies, like A League of Their Own and Major League (I guess the secret ingredient is "League" in the title).

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    4. Meant to write more before posting...

      I don't love the game of baseball, having been born in a country where it's not played (i.e. any country except the US), so maybe that's why. Though I do like some baseball movies, like I mentioned in the previous post.

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    5. Living in Germany and being not very interested in any kind of sports I´m not the least bit interested in real life baseball...but I always loved baseball movies, especially Field of dreams and The Natural. I like that one pretty much, the great cast, Caleb Deschanels dreamy photography, Randy Newmans score and surely a big chunk of nostalgia from my side. Yes, Redford is too old for the role but that´s still my only quibble with this movie.

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    6. Michael GiammarinoMarch 27, 2016 at 3:19 PM

      How do you Stargate SG-1?

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    7. Michael GiammarinoMarch 27, 2016 at 3:21 PM

      How do you guys feel about Stargate SG-1?

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  2. There's nothing I can say about BvS that hasn't already been said. Eye in the Sky was worth a watch though. Solid movie with a good cast and maybe our last chance to see Alan Rickman in a new movie. A bit heavy-handed at times, but I guess if there's a scenario where you can get away with that it might be when you're looking at the morality of drone strikes with potential civilian casualties.

    On Prime I watched Dead Dudes in the House, a Troma flick from 1989 that I remember seeing on cable a few times as a kid. Took me a while to find the name of it because I conflate it with The Evil (1978) a bit since they both involve houses the victims can't escape from. Also the DVD cover pictures a group of characters that don't actually appear in the movie. The picture quality on Prime was pretty bad though and a lot of scenes were also too dark to see anything, although I understand that there probably isn't much of a financial incentive do a restoration on lesser-known Troma movies.

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  3. I've watched 'The Hateful Eight' Blu Ray twice now, beautiful transfer, it really is a 70 mm masterpiece. Morricone's score sounds incredible. I didn't really realize it until recently, but Samuel L. Jackson really should have been nominated for some acting award for this performance. All this Oscars so White talk was all about Will Smith, Michael B. Jordan, and the actors in Straight Outta Compton, but no one mentions Jackson. Kurt Russell is so good in this as well. I still think Channing Tatum doesn't quite fit in this world that Tarantino created, might be my only real gripe with the film.

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  4. Finally watched Turbo Kid after it had been recommended countless times by the fthismovie family.

    The question I have is this: Is there a more fist-pumping moment of greatness in a movie than Apple storming in to save the day in slow motion on her push bike decorated with the head of a toy unicorn?!?

    I say no sir.

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    1. This makes me happy!

      It gets even better on rewatches, Apples performance is note perfect, Eyes, Throat, Genitals. ...

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  5. Anyone else going to see BvS for the sole purpose of listening to podcasts? I'm really not all that interested in seeing it, beyond wanting to see Ben's performance. Snyder's track record kind of turns me off to anything he makes. But between F This Movie and the Weekly Planet, I feel like I'll be missing out if I don't see it. I wanna be hip. Anyone else willing to waste about 4 hours of their lives for this reason as well?

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    1. Just skip the movie but listen to the podcasts. Having your eggs overcooked doesn't mean you need to skip the bacon!

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    2. I'm going to listen to podcasts for the sole purpose of being able to skip BvS.

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    3. I sort of did that. I saw the movie. It's going to be weird listening to a podcast that's just two guys taking a dump for 75 minutes.

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    4. I'm going to listen first, there is too much talk for me right now, Weirdly I am going to watch on Bluray in a few months time after the dust has settled with fresh eyes! I would not give it a fair try at this moment in time

      Ps Did you see the interview with Affleck and Cavill doing the rounds? TBH it made me really sad to see Ben so upset

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    5. Lol I did see that, I think it's a funny thing to goof on, but I also think it's much ado about nothing. Ben's just kinda that way. Even when he's on camera, he rarely puts on a fake smile. He usually just.....kinda sits there.

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    6. I like it when big name actors act human. Also Ben Affleck turned in excellent work in BvS, perhaps not enough to justify seeing the movie though.

      To address the original post, I like seeing the movie because it legitimizes my opinion of it - especially if it is part of the current water cooler conversations, podcasts included. That being said, your life is not affected one way or another if you skip this one. Wait for the Affleck directed Batflick that surely is in the pipeline.

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    7. Ok update

      I have been to see it today. And its too early to give my thoughts. I'm kinda numb....

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    8. Michael GiammarinoMarch 27, 2016 at 3:26 PM

      BvS is a mess but I ended up liking it. A lot. Having not seen it yet, I'm attributing the cause of its biggest problems to having a 30 minute chunk ripped out of it. Not every three hour movie can work in a 2 and a half hour version. Look at Kingdom of Heaven.

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    9. I did see a joke that said "what if the directors cut of BvS ends up being the Kingdom of Heaven of Superhero movies?" We shall see!

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    10. The podcast should be interesting. I ended up not liking it so much, especially the last hour. However, Ben Affleck...you da real MVP.

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    11. British critic Mark Kermode has problems with Zack as a film maker, after seeing this film I kinda agree, its all surface with nothing else, there was one joke I can remember and even that fell flat, I agree about Ben though, he did what he could and I enjoyed his performance

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  6. Also, Patrick recommended The Comedy on Netflix this Movie this week; has anyone else seen this? I watched it last year after RedLetterMedia recommended it, and had a very negative reaction to it. I get that it's supposed to be uncomfortable, and I'm fine with that, but I also found it very uninteresting. It seems to want to embrace everything it's also condemning. I think this is because the movie offers no counterpoint. I won't say it's pretentious, but I did think it lacked very little substance as a whole.

    Needless to say, I will not recommend this on my Netflix this Movie fan fiction.

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    1. The counterpoint is us, right? The Wolf of Wall Street didn't really offer a counterpoint either, but I understood that those people were pieces of shit.

      But I also get not liking it. I won't ever be watching it again.

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    2. I'd offer that Kyle Chandler is the counterpoint in Wolf. He's not a perfect character, but his subway ride home at the end of the movie speaks volumes to me. I'm not quite looking for someone to give a big speech about how wrong Swanson is, but I found that the movie had 2 characters; the shitty hipster, and their helpless victim. After about 30 minutes I got to thinking "okay, these people are hollow and shitty, what else do you got?" And I don't think it offers much new material after that.

      I hope I'm not coming off like a prick here! I just don't get this movie.

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    3. I watched The Comedy and really really enjoyed it. I almost think of it like a millennial version of Taxi Driver. Full disclosure I'm a big Tim Heidecker fan so that may have swayed me a little.

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  7. I watched Get A Job yesterday. It's on vod after being shelved for 4 years and stars Miles Teller and Anna Kendrick. It's aggressively naive about the job market and how human beings behave.

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    1. I like the sound of that cast. Too bad the treatment of the story apparently isn't as up to snuff. :(

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  8. I watched Rio Bravo for the first time this week. That was a good choice on my part.

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  9. I saw Batman V Superman two days ago. Can't wait for your podcast. I think it's a very interesting movie to discuss...

    I've been wondering if anyone here has listened to Hamilton? I don't think I've seen it discussed.

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    1. Hamilton is great! Big fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda. I know there was some talk of turning In the Heights into a movie (with I think Kenny Ortega to direct); here's hoping that Hamilton's huge success puts it back onto the agenda.

      Although, we haven't had a good modern Broadway movie adaptation for a while now.

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    2. Michael GiammarinoMarch 27, 2016 at 3:29 PM

      I think the reviews for BvS,good or bad, have been some of the best examples of film criticism , period, a long long time.

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  10. Watched:
    "Baskin" - over hyped. Didn't do it for me. Tried to be "shocking" and that's it's biggest fault.
    "The Hoarder", stay away.
    "Aaaaaaagh!", Nope, not even for arts sake.
    "Szabadeses" - really liked it but it's pretty much just 7 shorts done by a future hall of fame filmmaker.
    "They're Watching" - should have been a 20 minute short and I bet it was.
    "Bleed" - Cheapened by typical modern Horror CGI and "loud noise-followed by jump scare" standard fare. Meh.

    Not a strong movie weekend for me. Oh well.

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    1. Did u see Summer Camp? I almost went cuz of JocD.

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    2. I thought Summer Camp got a delayed VOD release? Is it in limited theatrical release?

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    3. It played in a few theaters last weekend

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    4. That's awesome! I'm happy to hear that they tried for a theatrical run, although you know I am a big supporter of these films being released on VOD at the same time as I think it's a win-win for the filmmakers.

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  11. My Man Godfrey was great...again.

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  12. Batman V Superman was fun. I'd say its slightly overstuffed with narrative though, a bit on the long side(Zack Snyder's forte) and contains a little bit of what I call "Whiplash Storytelling" that's really noticeable slightly beyond the beginning of the final act. Good movie though, what I expected.

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  13. Hans Zimmer's churning music cues with its simple repeating chord progressions still get me. He uses it so much, I should be getting sick of the gimmick but I'm not. "Time" from Inception, "Day One" from Interstellar and now "Beautiful Lie" from BvS. It irritates me somehow.

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  14. Happy Easter! Let's celebrate the original zombie...Jesus!

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  15. Shout out to Patrick for recommending Truck Turner. This would not have been on my radar had it not been for Patrick discussing it on a podcast a while back. Bought the blu ray on sale and loved every minute. This needs to be on everyone's radar for Junesploitation. Nichelle Nichols performance has to be seen to be believed!

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    1. Just introduced this to some FTM peeps literally last night! Nichelle Nichols is even more enjoyable once you realize she talks just like Katt Williams. Love that movie.

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    2. Thanks PB for bringing Truck Turner into my life. Sorry for ruining Marki Bey for you.

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    3. Best pimp funeral ever put to film is in this movie.

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  16. Watched End Of The Tour last night. Really really good. Unique in the sense that it's a portrait of a brilliant person who isn't incredibly quick or "on" all the time. It's a very specific observation.
    Don't know if it's the script or the actor, but did anyone else think Eisenberg had a hard time making the rhythms of conversation (especially talking over Segal) seem natural?

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    1. Yes. He was the one weak point in that movie for me. I love the ultra specific world that movie creates. Winter 1996 in Indiana.

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    2. Definitely. The characters seeing Broken Arrow in a theatre brought back some very vivid memories for me.

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    3. Yes, in a mall theater no less!? I sense a new addition to Adam Riske's column coming...

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    4. Mall theater? Travolta movie? End of the Tour? This is like my dream conversation :-)

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  17. I´m still watching Mad Man, right now in the middle of season 4.
    In between I watched Douglas Trumbulls Brainstorm on Bluray. Man, this looks just great, especially the wide screen sequences that sometimes look like modern 3D. This movie never looked so good since I saw it in theatres in 83. Although the film is far from perfect and you can feel the trouble of the production, I still like it very much. An interesting story, a wonderful score by James Horner and great acting by Christopher Walken and especially Louise Fletcher. Despite it´s flaws, for me still a winner.
    And now back to Don Draper...

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  18. So I bought the James Bond blu-ray release a few months ago, I've been meaning to watch them all but didn't want to go chronologically and get burned out on the bad Connery early. So instead I wrote down all the titles on little pieces of paper, and randomly draw one out every Sunday night and watch it.

    Started out well, The Spy Who Loved Me. Next, Moonraker (what are the odds?) Tonight, Octopussy. I'VE BECOME TRAPPED GUYS! ROGER MOORE WONT LEAVE ME ALONE!

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    1. Too much Connery (the bad ones) and too much Moore (very hit and miss) is the definition of having first world problems. :-) You should have gone with the Timothy Dalton Bonds to start you 007 journey from the mountain top, then making your way down to the peaks & valleys below.

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  20. Can't wait for Snyder's "Lassie, Come Home"...

    "Timmy can get his own ass out of that fucking well."

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  21. Watching Superman Returns and so far, this is pretty terrible. I don't remember it being this bad. I don't think I can take 2 and a half hours of this. Oh, there's Kal Penn.

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    1. I wanted to like that movie so much...

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    2. And there goes Kal Penn...

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    3. What can I say? I really dig Superman Returns. I can identify with metrosexual emo Superman who creeps on girls by staring at them... Similar to Edward Cullen from Twilight... But Kryptonian.

      I like how the entire movie serves up copious amounts of Americana nostalgia (John Ottman's revitalisation of the Williams score does wonders). The "How Could You Leave Us?" scene alone melts me.

      I appreciated how it tried to imagine what a modern day extrapolation of the world introduced in the Reeves Superman era would look like today. I could even go with its attempts to spin off into new directions (RE: bastard Superkid & perennial niceguy James Marsden). Superman himself had a "space dad" and an "Earth dad" - so can Superbastard!

      Basically, with all the criticisms levelled at Superman Returns: I see them, but they're weirdly not deal breakers for me. It works for me. That being said, I totally get why people think that it is terrible (it's a matter of taste) or boring (Man of Steel compensated too far in the other direction IMO), but I'm a unique snowflake and I like Superman Returns. I don't think I'll be converting anybody to my position anytime soon, but just wanted to put my movie love out into the ether.

      (Final caveat: I think I liked Batman v Superman more than most people, so whatever. *shrugs*)

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    4. Oh my word, Superman Returns is unwatchable. There is no way to glean anything from that movie aside from a director making all the wrong decisions and failing so miserably that he kills his own potential franchise in one monumental fell swoop. I appreciate the anomaly of you responding differently to the film though. It takes all kinds to make the world go round. But Man of Steel was an absolute masterwork in comparison (and I hated Man of Steel! It's not unwatchable though as Returns surely is.)

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    5. My favorite of them all is Superman III so what the hell do I know.

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    6. I also like Superman Returns, maybe mostly out of nostalgia for Richard Donner´s Superman. Singer´s failed reboot has a similar vibe and just the recreation of the flying credits scored with Williams classic main title had me right at the beginning. Watching it today, it is clearly a bit slow and too long, but it´s still lighthearted silly fun, which was exactly what I wanted it to be.

      Regarding Man of steel, the trailers made me tear up and gave me goosebumps....and they were totally misleading. I expected a big rousing adventure with emotional bang. What I got was something that, with the exception of every Kevin Costner scene, just didn´t worked for me at all. And the final blow came with that horrendous insane and totally boring final fight between general Zod and Superman.
      BvS is just 3 hours away from me and I´m pretty excited, despite my disappointment with Man of steel and despite the bad critical reception it got.

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