Film and Episodic Content Discussion Thread

So the most overrated movie of the year won a bunch of Oscars... I actually liked Everything Everywhere All At Once, but just could not get onboard the insane hype train. I felt the title Random Shit Happening Alot was a better title... about the only Oscar I felt that movie deserved was Ke Huy Quan, because he was amazing and deserved some recognition for his rags to riches personal story. Best supporting actress should've gone to Angela Basset (who classed up Wakanda Forever and was the only thing in that movie worth a damn), Michelle Yeoh was fine, but Cate Blanchet was f'ing robbed (I've not seen a performance that good since Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood) and was a victim of the Everything Everywhere love fest that has infected Hollywood.

 

I’m glad you posted this because it triggered my memory of an excellent film which I might have included in my top ten list. The film I forgot about is “Traffic”, 2000, w/ a slew of great actors (Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Don Cheadle and many more familiar names). The story/ plot is truly too long and complicated to explain. I’ll only mention two scenes that have stayed with me ever since seeing the movie.

The first scene is the one with Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas) , an Ohio judge, appointed to head the President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, taking on the title Drug Czar. In this scene he’s sitting in an Air Force One type plane, with a group of Harvard and Yale educated government associates and asks them for new strategic ideas towards the war on drugs. He realizes that new approaches are needed since his predecessors have failed so far. The key in this scene is what leads to the second scene and what it is, is the following statement he tells the associates : “we must think outside the box” (for solutions). After Wakefield says that he looks around at his colleagues all sitting there in their expensive suits, male and female, and is met with silence. They’re all looking at their note pads, some tapping their pens, others staring into thin air but nothing is said. This leads to the second and equally important scene to the movie/ plot.

Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) is a Mexican police officer who loosely applies the law on occasion. But we discover him to be a compassionate and caring individual as the movie progresses. He can’t do much in applying the law when it comes to the drug trafficking. He works under a general who is affiliated with a top drug cartel. Eventually Rodriguez will give two FBI agents information that will help bring down the general but he wants something in return. Since he doesn’t trust the FBI he meets the two agents in an outdoor public pool.

He swims towards them in the crowded pool to make the exchange of information for what they can give him in return. When money is discussed in exchange for information Del Toro may have, Del Toro simply asks the men, “Do you like baseball?” Confused, they say nothing. He goes on to tell them that the baseball fields in his town need lights, so the kids can play at night, so it is safe. “This is what I am talking about, my friends,” he says as he gracefully swims away.

The little Mexican town which Rodriguez is from is very poor and kids growing up there are susceptible to being used by the drug cartels. We see Rodriguez sitting in the crowd of a small baseball stadium watching kids play night baseball. He has a smile of satisfaction and content on his face.

That sequence within the scene hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I watched the movie : “a lowly educated, ordinary Mexican police officer came up with a solution “Outside The Box”.

 

@Pharmaboy Aubrey Plaza hosted SNL recently. She killed it. She’s one of those hosts that couldve been a cast member.

 

I actually saw a sneak preview of this film before it was released, in LA. Great film. I remember seeing John Singleton (director) there as well.

 

TRAFFIC is one of so many excellent films directed by Steven Soderberg. Just my 2 cents, but he seems to have a higher success rate (= films actually worth seeing at all & maybe more than just once) than do many other directors. For example, the 2 films he directed just before this one were OUT OF SIGHT (IMO the best Elmore Leonard film adaptation ever) and THE LIMEY (a fine film I've raved about on this thread before).

His 2008 film HAYWIRE is also one I've seen repeatedly. It's certainly not on the level of TRAFFIC, but it does seamlessly blend 2 genres very close to my heart: espionage; and a martial artist woman kicking major ass.

 

I never liked this show and so didn't see Audrey's work in it. Clearly that was a mistake.

The first clip really shows why people want to work with Audrey: she can be intense beyond what many actors can handle (depending on the part). Acting with her must be like having a loaded gun go off near your face.

Love how she builds in the 2nd one. And "Megan" shows (as if we need more proof) that Audrey can do ANYTHING (perfectly).

"Megan, you messy ho"

Thanks for giving me a chance to correct my mistake.

PS: Anyone who hasn't seen EMILY THE CRIMINAL (on Netflix) should see is ASAP. It's hardly a perfect film, but it gives Audrey a chance to flat-out act, and she nails the part, especially the repressed anger and growing acceptance of her own violent impulses.

 

@Pharmaboy, you were spot on about Fauda. It was biased and had plot holes too many to mention. The acting wasn't that great either. Definitely a major let-down from Stranger. I still haven't found a different show that rivals it.

I found the OG Monty Python's Flying Circus on Netflix last night. Brought back many good memories. I liked the series, 4 years shown, better than their movies.

 

Same here. I've tried one Korean series after the other (cops; cops and lawyers; lawyers; spies), and not one of them rings my bell like STRANGER did.

The 2nd best Korean series I've seen (a couple years ago on Netflix) was EXTRACURRICULAR. The story takes place in a high school, which on the surface hints at silly teen bullshit content. But the show goes way deeper than I expected and gets downright grim and existential by the end. The male teen lead is nothing special, but two women who co-star with him (his rather dominant/domineering maybe girlfriend & the far more vulnerable girl he tries to exploit) play really deep, for real characters. The relationship between the latter girl and an older man who acts as her protector is the most surprising part of the series (he's a fascinating character who brings a potent taste of bloody reality to the proceedings).

I can recommend this one, but you have to get through 2-3 episodes to really be in the swing of it. Don't expect the South Korean version of FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. This series has way more to offer than the usual teen nonsense...

 

[QUOTE="purr1n, post: 404496, member: 3"
Maybe you took Triangle Of Sadness too seriously and should have viewed it as comedy while drunk? Do you advise?[/QUOTE]

My co-worker has watched it about half-way. He said not much is really happening - the setup isn't worth the payoff. I saw it recommended elsewhere also. It sounds more like a skip, but maybe someone has a convincing way to tell me it's not only about puke.

 

It's also about selfies.

 

My co-worker has watched it about half-way. He said not much is really happening - the setup isn't worth the payoff. I saw it recommended elsewhere also. It sounds more like a skip, but maybe someone has a convincing way to tell me it's not only about puke.[/QUOTE]

I've read some wildly divergent opinions about TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (great title BTW). In thinking over whether I want to see this, there are competing factors:

• The director is Swedish and has something of a reputation for cultural satire (2 positives)
• But I don't give a rat's ass about fashion or the entitled wealthy types (and not wealthy strivers) who infest that world (2 negatives)

I'm on the fence...

 

Anyone here seen Heavenly Creatures? It's an early film of Peter Jackson's (1994) that some people say is his best film ever. I found it on IMDB after a search of an actor (actress) in The Last of Us, Melanie Lynskey. @Pharmaboy, @ColtMrFire?

 

It's a good film. I would not say it's his best, but it's certainly an antecedent to his other work... It's definitely worth seeing if you are into his work. It's definitely dark.

 

f**k Peter Jackson for taking the Hobbit away from Guillermo del Toro. PJ didnt want to get shown up so quickly shat out that CGI (in)fest just to remain Lord of Tolkien.

 

The case it was based on is still discussed in NZ from time to time. Jackson's follow-up to that film, 1996's The Frighteners, wasn't so well received.

IMO his best work remains Bad Taste. Part of the hilarity it generated in NZ was because the aliens looked and behaved like a much-unloved former prime minister.

 

Nope, never saw it. it never came near where I live. I read all about it at the time. First time I heard the name Kate Winslet. Just checked and I can't find it anywhere...

FWIW, the other actress in this story is Melanie Lynskey. Always liked her work in other things.

 

Never heard of this film until very recently. It's on my list to see.

1st Peter Jackson film I ever saw was a complete, wonderful mindfuck for this longtime horror fan: DEAD ALIVE. Not sure I've gotten over that appalling/amazing film to this very day.

 

Dead Alive (Braindead outside North America) was his first film with much of a budget (300 litres of fake blood). More in line with Bad Taste is Meet the Feebles (muppet porn-gore-musical), which you might get a kick out of too.

While I'm here: Slow Horses, Apple TV+. Spy thriller series based on Mick Herron's Slough House book series, featuring Gary Oldman (excellent as reprobate former field agent Jackson Lamb) and Kristin Scott-Thomas (scheming MI5 deputy head). 2 seasons so far, 2 more on the way.

 

I got very interested in that show a couple months ago. Prompted by an offer (on my LG OLED's home page) of a 3-month free trial of Apple TV, I innocently tried to sign up for that free trial--then got bogged down in the Apple swamp. It was incredible.

To do anything Apple, you have to set up an account. Man, did that go badly! I don't have a cellphone, so kept having to run back to my office computer (~70 ft from the OLED) and back each time Apple commanded me to get another code they just emailed me. This happened 6-7 times. Finally I gave up trying to create an account (because it was impossible), then went down another 2 hour time-hole simply trying to erase the partially-constructed acct (because I didn't want to get email from these bots forever). I lost an entire evening to the madness that is Apple.

I will NEVER own an Apple device or view/listen to Apple content. So no SLOW HORSES for me.