Film and Episodic Content Discussion Thread

Yeah while watching it I thought she was going to be front and center for a while, but then she disappears. And the sex scene (like most) stopped the movie cold. I hate sex scenes and so does Scorsese who generally never uses them. They're pointless for the story. The only movie I remember it being necessary was Boogie Nights, but that movie is ABOUT porn, so no sex scene would've been weird. Oh and teen sex comedies obviously but the sex is there to add to the laughs, not stop a movie cold.

 

thanks for the lol. and u just kno dis true irl too lmao

 

Watched a couple of films with my parents on Netflix over the last couple days: They Cloned Tyrone and JUNG_E. Both are great fun in their own right, I actually teared up at multiple parts of the film watching JUNG_E because while it's not particularly original and the use of CGI was jarring at times, I did appreciate the Tsutomu Nihei-esque landscapes and how well-acted it was (rest in peace, Kang Soo-yeon). Pretty solid film that I enjoyed just sitting with, but far from spectacular cinema IMO.

Tyrone, on the other hand, beats you over the head with VERY SUBTLE commentary on American culture. I'm obviously in no way, shape, or form able to offer any meaningful thoughts thereon but I will say that I laughed my face off many times throughout the film's runtime and appreciated how tight the story was. My main complaint is a somewhat dragging final act and the use of a grain filter that's too damned aggressive. Highly recommend this one, it actually kicks you in the feelings (esp in one part I'll not spoil) while overall just being a wild and fun ride.

 

I have "...TYRONE..." bookmarked for watching. Love that title...seeing "Tyrone" in the title is somehow soul-restoring.

I"ve read relatively little about this film, but hope it has a slapstick vibe & will occupy a comic/satiric space to bookend the high-minded fare of Jordan Peele, just as the wonderful "FRIDAY" series of Compton zanies offset more serious fare like BOYS IN THE HOOD and DO THE RIGHT THING.

This desire for satire juxtaposing seriousness goes back a long way with me. I remember going to see PUTNEY SWOPE in a NYC theater (completely uninformed about its plot) in 1969, a time of extreme social/racial tension in NYC and elsewhere, then laughing so hard at the film that my stomach was sore for days.

(yes, I know the director was a white man & that the main black character's voice was dubbed with that of a white man [for excellent reasons]. None of this undercut this film's brilliant, scathing sendup of the (generally lilly-white) Madison Avenue advertising business)

 

Article that gives a very clear compelling picture of how dire the industry is right now:

https://www.vulture.com/2023/06/str...u-apple-tv-prime-video-peacock-paramount.html

 

Sr > jr

 

I really wasn't familiar w/Sr's career. Just IMDB'd him. This is a sentence from his bio:

"Robert Downey Sr. served in the army, played minor-league baseball, was a Golden Gloves champion and off-off Broadway playwright, all before he was 22 years old."

He acted in many things (didn't know that) and directed a number of films.

I suspect Jr. gets the nod in sheer acting ability, though I find his evident high self regard off-putting. But I also suspect Sr. takes the prize for all around competence and achievement.

And IMO, PUTNEY SWOPE will be forever in the pantheon of truly transgressive, excellent satires (a genre close to my heart).

 

Sr. is in one of my fav scenes in Boogie Nights:

 

Totally forgot that whole scene. Probably should rewatch this film, though I remember it being sad AF amidst all the time travel hipness of it.

 

I'm 90% of the way through a new indie film that just came to Prime: BONES AND ALL.

I read many reviews of this film. It really helps that I'd never seen Taylor Russell or Timothy Chalamet before. I really had no expectations for the film.

I'm impressed as hell. A number of reviews by astute reviewers focused on the cannabilism theme--understandable because it's so bloody, sensational & taboo. Still, beneath all the gore/glam, this is an involving, emotionally nuanced, beautifully photographed road movie, a lovers-on-the-run film.* That makes it a keeper for me. I haven't been young in a long time, but this film has me remembering that on-the-edge-at-all-times feeling...

IMO Taylor Russell owns every scene. She has a quality of relaxed naturalism combined with unpredictability I don't see very often. Timothy Chalamet started out by borderline over-acting (too much surface attitude/too many sneers), but as the film goes on he grows on me, too.

There are disturbing, memorable scenes with Mark Rylance (he's so out of place that he fits right in); and the cameo by Chloe Sevigny is really dire, totally free of actress vanity. It shocked me as much as the other characters. When I think back on the times I've seen her, she's always been a brooding, restless presence slinking through her scenes.

I strongly recommend this one.

*I'm reminded of other films in this genre: BONNIE AND CLYDE: BADLANDS; RAISING ARIZONA; THIEVES LIKE US; GUN CRAZY; WHERE DANGER LIVES; THEY LIVE BY NIGHT.

 

Fyi @ColtMrFire new 70mm "blowup" print from the original 35mm negative of Boogie Nights is having an NYC premier. I know you are down south, but maybe this will be coming your way eventually?

https://www.filmlinc.org/films/boogie-nights-on-70mm/

 

Fuckin' hope so! Thanks for the heads up.

 

ok, you convinced me, AGAIN.

TLBN is in my personal top 10.

 

One of my sisters-in-law worked with Farley Granger during the last years of his life. She helped him organize his papers and specifically assisted with his 2007 book, "Include Me Out." She liked working with him. I told her she was lucky to know a major film actor of the late '40s and early '50s. Farley was humble and probably thought better of stage acting than film (as many did back then). But there's no question he has a long winning streak in Hollywood during that period.

I always thought Farley had an unusual and striking presence in those early film roles: he was young, very handsome, and somehow, completely relatable. He didn't give off movie star vibes. He was all about the work, the role. It's easy to see why big-time directors sought him out.

 

abso-lute-ly. seen him on special features for TLBN, and he def, def gave off those vibes. he also said--I dunno how old he was, but old enough to no longer work--that acting for and working w Nicholas Ray was the highlight of his career.

 

Here's a factoid to show just how much Granger came out of nowhere to be a big-time actor:

• his first two films were supporting roles: 1943's THE NORTH STAR, then a larger role in 1944's THE PURPLE HEART
  
• Then he went off to serve in WWII
  
• After his return, his next film, clearly one of the best of his career, was 1948's THEY LIVE BY NIGHT for Nicholas Ray
• And this next film was ROPE (also 1948) for Hitchcock.

(quite the career arc!)

 

Well, I have another streaming content recommendation. This one couldn't be further from my usual fare (crime dramas, police procedurals, horror, shoot 'em ups). It's TALES FROM THE LOOP on Prime Video.

Why I even started watching this is a bit of a tale. I'm currently on vacation in the Canadian maritimes (PEI), where I discovered virtually every show I'm currently watching or have bookmarked in "My Stuff," on Prime is rent/pay only here. A few core Prime original shows are still available here w/o pulling out a credit card, TALES is one of them.

Three episodes in, I'm really liking and admiring this series. While it does have certain striking sci-fi elements, the main vibe is gentle, heartfelt, measured, observant, character-driven drama of considerably subtlety. Each episode builds on the last in an indirect way, but other than some shared surface context, these are standalone stories. I'm finding the writing to be superior and the acting on quite a high level. Perhaps best of all, while the scenery is littered with fantastic sci-fi'ey things (ie, a robot; a giant metal ball with a door that opens; obelisks and statuary of unknown function & provenance) the production does almost nothing to explain them.

This strikes me as an update of one of my favorite literary genres, magic realism:here it is magic science fiction realism.

Give it a try...

 

Just suffered through 3 episodes of Apple TV's INVASION before giving up. Another awful attempt by the streamer. Also finished HIJACK, which was decent, but mostly forgettable. FOUNDATION was also disappointing after several episodes. You'd think a company worth north of 2 trillion dollars could engineer a method to make something compelling.... they only have decades and decades of examples of quality cinema to mine from.

 

Agreed about HIJACK. Other Apple TV shows have been quite disappointing: FOUNDATION soon descended into dreary pomposity; PLATONIC is about as funny as prepping for a colonoscopy, and FOR ALL MANKIND drags on and on and on. There's enough material for a mini-series and instead they're making it longer than an actual journey to Mars. TED LASSO is nice enough, and kind of sweet, but we realized months ago that we'd forgotten to watch through to the end of the second season.

The shows I've liked are SLOW HORSES, which starts off poorly and hackneyed - trying too hard - but picks up nicely in the second season, finding its feet with a good mix of comedy and drama. Fortunately the seasons are short.

The one show I've really liked is SILO. It's a dystopia set in the future that's part sci-fi, part thriller, and with a good deal of intrigue and suspense. The characters are decent, as is the writing, and the sets and the attention to detail are outstanding. It helps that I've now got a crush on the star, Rebecca Ferguson, so I might be biased. The premise and the story are so good I bought the book.

 

SILO is another Apple show I tried and failed to keep interest in... they setup an intriguing thread about the outside, but then seem to just ignore it for internal politics which wasn't interesting enough to keep me watching.