MORNING GLORY (2010) I find it like upsetting that this movie is so overlooked. Maybe it has TOO MUCH good stuff going on (its overwhelming)? It is very fast-paced and smart, but unpretentious. It's one of the most real-New York movies I've ever seen. It's the modern WORKING GIRL. Diane Keaton is doing her best Diane Keaton. This is actually my favorite-by far Harrison Ford performance (one reason why I'm so sad the movie is underseen). And Rachel McAdams - I'm upset she didn't get any big awards for this. She is so believable as a frenzied, funny, annoying, hard-working, badass, gorgeous woman who has no idea she's attractive. I think that is VERY hard to pull off. I marvel at that character, which she makes wonderfully believable. Her character is meant to carry (drag) the whole movie because she's the only one spirited enough to believe in her morning news show, and she just does an f-ing amazing job.
I'm also so impressed because I actually have a really hard time with Rachel McAdams in all other movies. I just find her miscast usually, and to be honest, I kind of find her annoying in her roles. Like nails on a chalkboard. But in Morning Glory she is a PERFECT fit. It makes me feel like all the other roles are a bad match because they aren't worthy of her or something. (Note- I have not seen her recent, Are you there God? It's me, Margaret yet)
Anyway, the ending is amazing and makes me smile ear to ear. I love that the focus is the relationship between the Rachel McAdams' producer character and Harrison Ford's anchor character. I really hope someday this movie gets its dues!
Looking at past years, the announcement has always been between May 15th and 25th, and recently more often than not it's been on a Monday. So my educated guess is next week, most likely Monday.
The announcement certainly could be next week. Patrick wrote that he was working on the schedule a few days ago. The calendar image has to be created, too. All of that takes time.
In any case, the Junesploitation fun commences in two weeks. I am looking forward to it.
I'm really hoping to announce this week provided we can get everything ready. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. And thank you for being excited about it!
Godzilla X Kong (2024): first, i like this film series. The movies are deeply flawed, but i always have fun with them, this one is no different, i was expecting worse. The intro of the movie is fun, setting up where we're at. I laughed at the literal Godzilla cliff dive, because i thought it was cool. The hollow-er earth is kinda dumb, but we get more monsters and more fights, so i'm all in. Humans are there to do exposition and only sometimes get in the way. We do get more Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens, so that's always fun. And the angry miner guy from the Chernobyl mini-series has a decent part in the first act and he's always good, he's doing an angry military guy. The annoying podcaster guy is still here, but he's kinda useful, but still annoying. Then we get to the finale and it gets weird and super fun. One thing i'll say for this franchise, they never oversaturated us with movies and tv shows. And i'm now realizing that between this and Planet of the Apes, we're in an ape-naissance and i'm here for it.
The TV Set (2007): those who are Patreon subscribers know that Patrick put it on his most recent I Stream You Stream list. And i remembered how much i liked the movie back then, i still do now. I totally forgot the stellar cast though. Almost anybody with more than 2 lines is somebody i saw and liked from something else. I'm not a fan of David Duchovny though, never have been. I liked stuff he was in, so i always tolerated him.
Mumford (1999): another suggestion i heard in an FTM podcast, can't remember which one, old or new (i listen and relisten to a lot of FTM, my memory is shit, so it's always new to me 🤣). Patrick was high praising the movie so i had to check it out. It's very good. Unassuming drama, full of great actors, some of them before they became known from other stuff.
Challengers (2024): i didn't care for this movie. The actors were good, but i never felt the chemistry between them. Also, i don't care for movies told in flashbacks. Do your finale or don't, stop cutting back to the past to show us what got us there. I'm sure people like that, but i don't. Also, you can't use real balls, you have to do cgi for the tennis matches? The score slaps though, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross make good beats.
Brice de Nice a.k.a. The Brice Man (2005): french director James Huth brings back his great comedic timing after the very funny Serial Lover. If you speak french, you have to seek this one (Serial Lover might be difficult to find). You've seen the star, Jean Dujardin, in Wolf of Wall Street and The Artist, he's basically the french Jim Carrey, with the funny faces and physical comedy. He created the character for some sketch show and became popular with it. Brice is a moron blond surfer from Nice (there's no waves in Nice) who likes to insult people, loves yellow and think Bodhi from Point Break is the messiah. The theme song is a banger too.
Finally, i read the book about the production of Blues Brothers (in my top 3 favorite movies ever) and let me tell you, it's a miracle we got it. Belushi's was his own worst enemy and when you have a guy like that as the lead, you're heading into trouble. It didn't help that he was surrounded by enablers (mostly rock stars). There were other problems, but Belushi didn't help. Thanks to Landis who was able to pull this off. I obviously watched the movie afterwards.
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (1985) This is plotted like a mistaken identity farce, but the tone is more of a hang-out movie. But I liked it! The style and the real-life locations kept things interesting throughout.
MONKEY BUSINESS (1931) Marx Brothers goodness!
SPEED (1994) Watched this again on a whim. Still great! You will believe a bus can fly.
THE FLY (1986) Not the baboon!
BATMAN/SUPERMAN APOCALYPSE (2010) A retelling of Supergirl’s origin story, after which Supes and Batty-boy must protect her from being corrupted by Darkseid. Hey, why does HBO Max have hardly any of all those direct-to-video Batman animated movies?
Tonight I wanted to get out to see a film, but it is not good drive-in weather this weekend. I ended up going to a local theater to watch THE FALL GUY. Though not the biggest fan of modern Hollywood, I still try to give current films a chance. I was entertained by The Fall Guy and found the film-within-a-film framework a clever way to emphasize the artifice of cinema. I was one of three people in the theater.
There were a few watches during the week, too.
UHF (1989) – “We got it all on UHF.” I definitely watched parts of this on cable TV (probably HBO) back in the day. I was a Weird Al Yankovic fan in the 1980s, but somehow UHF did not leave any lasting impressions. All I recalled was that it was a silly movie. This week I brought out my DVD (a random cheap pickup) for a family request to watch something silly. A good time was had. The central story is entertaining, but the best parts for me were the parody commercials and fantasy sketches. The Rambo section is hilarious. With so many specific references in UHF, living through the time period it was made in undoubtedly helped me to connect with the film. I had somehow forgotten that talk show host Geraldo Rivera has his nose broken by a guest.
LOVE ME TENDER (1956) – An uneven melodramatic western that is best known for being the screen debut of one Elvis Aaron Presley. At the very end of the American Civil War, Confederate soldiers steal a Union pay shipment. Three of those soldiers are brothers from Texas. With the money evenly split between everyone, the soldiers return home, but Union officials are not going to forget the robbery. Elvis is the younger brother who stayed at home during war and ended marrying the sweetheart of his eldest brother. Elvis was not just hired to act; there are several musical numbers that do fit into the film. Love Me Tender manages to entertain without standing out from other westerns made around that period.
ILYA MUROMETS (1956, dir. Alexander Ptushko) – In a film full of heroes, Ilya Muromets is the ultimate hero. During a fantastical founding of Russia, Muromets defends the new nation from various threats, the most menacing of which is the Mongols. With his courage, the help of comrades, and a little magic, no challenge is too great for him. This Soviet-era folkloric epic is a feast for the eyes, full of beautiful landscapes and impressive battle set-pieces. The cast of extras went into the tens of thousands. The restoration released by Deaf Crocodile is gorgeous. It was released in a dubbed English version as The Sword And The Dragon in the 1960s.
I should have written "do not fit in the film." Elvis swiveling his hips in the Old West is too direct a pop culture reference to not be distracting from the story.
MORNING GLORY (2010)
ReplyDeleteI find it like upsetting that this movie is so overlooked. Maybe it has TOO MUCH good stuff going on (its overwhelming)? It is very fast-paced and smart, but unpretentious. It's one of the most real-New York movies I've ever seen. It's the modern WORKING GIRL. Diane Keaton is doing her best Diane Keaton. This is actually my favorite-by far Harrison Ford performance (one reason why I'm so sad the movie is underseen). And Rachel McAdams - I'm upset she didn't get any big awards for this. She is so believable as a frenzied, funny, annoying, hard-working, badass, gorgeous woman who has no idea she's attractive. I think that is VERY hard to pull off. I marvel at that character, which she makes wonderfully believable. Her character is meant to carry (drag) the whole movie because she's the only one spirited enough to believe in her morning news show, and she just does an f-ing amazing job.
I'm also so impressed because I actually have a really hard time with Rachel McAdams in all other movies. I just find her miscast usually, and to be honest, I kind of find her annoying in her roles. Like nails on a chalkboard. But in Morning Glory she is a PERFECT fit. It makes me feel like all the other roles are a bad match because they aren't worthy of her or something. (Note- I have not seen her recent, Are you there God? It's me, Margaret yet)
Anyway, the ending is amazing and makes me smile ear to ear. I love that the focus is the relationship between the Rachel McAdams' producer character and Harrison Ford's anchor character. I really hope someday this movie gets its dues!
Please don't tell me you think Rachel McAdams is miscast in About Time (2013)?
DeleteAny hints when we'll be seeing the Junesploitation announcement?
ReplyDeleteThe people are yearning.
DeleteLooking at past years, the announcement has always been between May 15th and 25th, and recently more often than not it's been on a Monday. So my educated guess is next week, most likely Monday.
DeleteThe announcement certainly could be next week. Patrick wrote that he was working on the schedule a few days ago. The calendar image has to be created, too. All of that takes time.
DeleteIn any case, the Junesploitation fun commences in two weeks. I am looking forward to it.
I'm really hoping to announce this week provided we can get everything ready. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. And thank you for being excited about it!
DeleteGodzilla X Kong (2024): first, i like this film series. The movies are deeply flawed, but i always have fun with them, this one is no different, i was expecting worse. The intro of the movie is fun, setting up where we're at. I laughed at the literal Godzilla cliff dive, because i thought it was cool. The hollow-er earth is kinda dumb, but we get more monsters and more fights, so i'm all in. Humans are there to do exposition and only sometimes get in the way. We do get more Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens, so that's always fun. And the angry miner guy from the Chernobyl mini-series has a decent part in the first act and he's always good, he's doing an angry military guy. The annoying podcaster guy is still here, but he's kinda useful, but still annoying. Then we get to the finale and it gets weird and super fun. One thing i'll say for this franchise, they never oversaturated us with movies and tv shows. And i'm now realizing that between this and Planet of the Apes, we're in an ape-naissance and i'm here for it.
ReplyDeleteThe TV Set (2007): those who are Patreon subscribers know that Patrick put it on his most recent I Stream You Stream list. And i remembered how much i liked the movie back then, i still do now. I totally forgot the stellar cast though. Almost anybody with more than 2 lines is somebody i saw and liked from something else. I'm not a fan of David Duchovny though, never have been. I liked stuff he was in, so i always tolerated him.
Mumford (1999): another suggestion i heard in an FTM podcast, can't remember which one, old or new (i listen and relisten to a lot of FTM, my memory is shit, so it's always new to me 🤣). Patrick was high praising the movie so i had to check it out. It's very good. Unassuming drama, full of great actors, some of them before they became known from other stuff.
Challengers (2024): i didn't care for this movie. The actors were good, but i never felt the chemistry between them. Also, i don't care for movies told in flashbacks. Do your finale or don't, stop cutting back to the past to show us what got us there. I'm sure people like that, but i don't. Also, you can't use real balls, you have to do cgi for the tennis matches? The score slaps though, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross make good beats.
Brice de Nice a.k.a. The Brice Man (2005): french director James Huth brings back his great comedic timing after the very funny Serial Lover. If you speak french, you have to seek this one (Serial Lover might be difficult to find). You've seen the star, Jean Dujardin, in Wolf of Wall Street and The Artist, he's basically the french Jim Carrey, with the funny faces and physical comedy. He created the character for some sketch show and became popular with it. Brice is a moron blond surfer from Nice (there's no waves in Nice) who likes to insult people, loves yellow and think Bodhi from Point Break is the messiah. The theme song is a banger too.
Finally, i read the book about the production of Blues Brothers (in my top 3 favorite movies ever) and let me tell you, it's a miracle we got it. Belushi's was his own worst enemy and when you have a guy like that as the lead, you're heading into trouble. It didn't help that he was surrounded by enablers (mostly rock stars). There were other problems, but Belushi didn't help. Thanks to Landis who was able to pull this off. I obviously watched the movie afterwards.
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (1985) This is plotted like a mistaken identity farce, but the tone is more of a hang-out movie. But I liked it! The style and the real-life locations kept things interesting throughout.
ReplyDeleteMONKEY BUSINESS (1931) Marx Brothers goodness!
SPEED (1994) Watched this again on a whim. Still great! You will believe a bus can fly.
THE FLY (1986) Not the baboon!
BATMAN/SUPERMAN APOCALYPSE (2010) A retelling of Supergirl’s origin story, after which Supes and Batty-boy must protect her from being corrupted by Darkseid. Hey, why does HBO Max have hardly any of all those direct-to-video Batman animated movies?
I have almost all the animated DC direct-to-video movies. I always have a good time with those
DeleteTonight I wanted to get out to see a film, but it is not good drive-in weather this weekend. I ended up going to a local theater to watch THE FALL GUY. Though not the biggest fan of modern Hollywood, I still try to give current films a chance. I was entertained by The Fall Guy and found the film-within-a-film framework a clever way to emphasize the artifice of cinema. I was one of three people in the theater.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few watches during the week, too.
UHF (1989) – “We got it all on UHF.” I definitely watched parts of this on cable TV (probably HBO) back in the day. I was a Weird Al Yankovic fan in the 1980s, but somehow UHF did not leave any lasting impressions. All I recalled was that it was a silly movie. This week I brought out my DVD (a random cheap pickup) for a family request to watch something silly. A good time was had. The central story is entertaining, but the best parts for me were the parody commercials and fantasy sketches. The Rambo section is hilarious. With so many specific references in UHF, living through the time period it was made in undoubtedly helped me to connect with the film. I had somehow forgotten that talk show host Geraldo Rivera has his nose broken by a guest.
LOVE ME TENDER (1956) – An uneven melodramatic western that is best known for being the screen debut of one Elvis Aaron Presley. At the very end of the American Civil War, Confederate soldiers steal a Union pay shipment. Three of those soldiers are brothers from Texas. With the money evenly split between everyone, the soldiers return home, but Union officials are not going to forget the robbery. Elvis is the younger brother who stayed at home during war and ended marrying the sweetheart of his eldest brother. Elvis was not just hired to act; there are several musical numbers that do fit into the film. Love Me Tender manages to entertain without standing out from other westerns made around that period.
ILYA MUROMETS (1956, dir. Alexander Ptushko) – In a film full of heroes, Ilya Muromets is the ultimate hero. During a fantastical founding of Russia, Muromets defends the new nation from various threats, the most menacing of which is the Mongols. With his courage, the help of comrades, and a little magic, no challenge is too great for him. This Soviet-era folkloric epic is a feast for the eyes, full of beautiful landscapes and impressive battle set-pieces. The cast of extras went into the tens of thousands. The restoration released by Deaf Crocodile is gorgeous. It was released in a dubbed English version as The Sword And The Dragon in the 1960s.
I should have written "do not fit in the film." Elvis swiveling his hips in the Old West is too direct a pop culture reference to not be distracting from the story.
DeleteI watched The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023, dir. Francis Galluppi) which was recommended recently on the podcast, and it was excellent.
ReplyDeleteYes! So glad you liked it! One of my favorites of the year so far.
Delete