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LawrenceA
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Posts posted by LawrenceA
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2 minutes ago, LornaHansonForbes said:
This is a very very British production, but at the same time they reference all three of the main island nationalities – there are Irish characters, English characters, and even a Scotsman.
No love for the Welsh?
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12 minutes ago, speedracer5 said:
If I see another version of A Christmas Carol, it'll be too soon.
The Muppets Christmas Carol was my favorite version of this story, and I'm even tired of that one.
I am so sick of Scrooge and his ghosts.
I've grown to detest A Christmas Carol in all of its incarnations, as well.
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I watched a handful of 2019 movies in the past couple of days:
- Child's Play (6/10) - A remake of a series that I was never a fan of, I checked this out based on some better-than-expected reviews, including praise from Stephen King. I found it better than any of the older Child's Play movies, with some darkly comic and satiric touches, and a couple of good performances (Aubrey Plaza and Bryan Tyree Henry), but it's still pretty stupid.
- The Souvenir (6/10) - British drama from writer-director Joanna Hogg, based on her own experiences as a film student in the early 1980's, who falls in love with an older man with some profound personal problems. This was a critical hit, and Sight & Sound listed it as the best film of the year, but I found it dull and thoroughly unoriginal. The lead performance by Honor Swinton Byrne is good, though.
- Crawl (7/10) - Quentin Tarantino raised some eyebrows when he named this his favorite movie of 2019. A college student and her father are trapped in the crawlspace under their house by a bunch of hungry alligators while a hurricane rages overhead. This stretches credulity beyond the breaking point but if one accepts it all as a creature-feature romp, it's well executed.
- The Report (8/10) - Dramatization of the preparation of the Senate Intelligence Committee Torture Report, with Adam Driver as the dogged investigator working for Senator Diane Feinstein (Annette Bening) who uncovers all the dirty secrets. Many will find this dull, as it lacks the typical Hollywood flair, but I found it well-directed by Scott Burns, and it shines a light on one of the US's darkest recent chapters.
- Booksmart (8/10) - Raunchy teen comedy about two buttoned-down high school friends (the very winning Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) who decide to cut loose at a graduation party before heading off to college. More sensitive viewers will be turned off by the language and sexuality, but I found it very funny, refreshing, and appealing.
- The Farewell (8/10) - Very moving drama about a Chinese family returning from around the world to spend time with a beloved grandmother who has terminal cancer. They decide not to inform her of her condition (a practice that seems to be common in China), and the family arrives under the pretense of a wedding of a grandson. Awkwafina stars as a granddaughter who has been raised in the US, and who seems to have the most trouble keeping the secret. Highlights are good performances and an excellent script that manages to balance the humor with the pathos without becoming maudlin or exploitative.
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2 minutes ago, sewhite2000 said:
Oh and thank you Blachefan (sorry, I don't know who "Blache" is!)
I used to think it was a misspelling of "Blanche", but later realized that it refers to movie pioneer Alice Guy-Blache.
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Director John Waters has released the list of his favorite movies of 2019. As usual, not all of the titles are officially 2019 titles.
- Climax
- Joan of Arc
- Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood
- Border
- Amazing Grace
- Hail Satan?
- Pain and Glory
- The Golden Glove
- The Souvenir
- Joker
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Here are the Ten Best Movies of 2019 as chosen by Time magazine's Stephanie Zacharek.
- Pain and Glory
- The Irishman
- Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood
- Marriage Story
- Little Women
- Parasite
- Knives Out
- Dolemite Is My Name
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- Hustlers
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3 minutes ago, jamesjazzguitar said:
I was watching re-runs of Password Plus and Peppard was on. I assume the reason was because the network that carried the show also carried Banacek (most of the guest players were associated with shows the network featured).
Well George was a real pain-in-the-A. I was shocked they didn't edit his rant out (well I assume they did to some degree): He complained about how the game-was-played and implied it might be "staged" to some degree. At first I felt he must be joking,,,, but he wasn't,,,.
I never saw more than a couple of minutes of Banacek, although I know people that liked it. I watched a few episodes of The A-Team and thought it was terrible.
I didn't actively dislike Peppard for a long time, I just thought he was bland and uninteresting, and whenever I'd see him in something, I always thought the film would have been better with someone else cast in his role. Later his smugness began to be very off-putting, and when I read several stories of how much of a jerk he was to nearly everyone else around him, I disliked him more, despite normally trying to separate on and off-screen personas.
He's one of a small handful of performers whose work I'll avoid.
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I haven't seen #137 or #138, and I don't know what #133 is.
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Sight & Sound released their 50 best movies of 2019 list. This is a British list, so some release dates differ from US dates.
- The Souvenir
- Parasite
- The Irishman
- Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Pain and Glory
- Atlantics
- Bait
- Us
- Vitalina Varela
- High Life
- Uncut Gems
- Monos
- Marriage Story
- For Sama
- Midsommar
- The Lighthouse
- Happy as Lazzaro
- Hustlers
- Martin Eden
- Beanpole
- Border
- Transit
- A Hidden Life
- The Farewell
- The Hottest August
- Ad Astra
- Varda By Agnes
- I Was at Home, But...
- In Fabric
- Knives Out
- Booksmart
- Ash Is Purest White
- Synonyms
- Zombi Child
- America
- No Data Plan
- Eighth Grade
- Joker
- Ray & Liz
- Hale County This Morning, This Evening
- I Lost My Body
- Holiday
- Honeyland
- Rocks
- Rose Plays Julie
- If Beale Street Could Talk
- Just Don't Think I'll Scream
- The Favourite
- The Mule
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George Peppard...ugh. Does he get hit by a train? If not, then no thanks.
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Never heard of it.
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24 minutes ago, lavenderblue19 said:
The Larry Sanders Show
I don't know how I forgot that one. I even have the complete series on DVD. It should have been in my favorites of the 1990's, as well.
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It will be posted on January 31, at 11:59 PM ET.
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8 minutes ago, Bethluvsfilms said:
BTW, nothing wrong with liking THE ENGLISH PATIENT. I just hope there aren't dire consequences for those of us who hated it, like poor Elaine in SEINFELD, who was alienated from her friends and boyfriend and even fired from her job for hating THE ENGLISH PATIENT, lol.
Most of the people I've spoken to/heard from about The English Patient hated the film. Other than the fact that it won the Best Picture Oscar, the only people I've ever met who say that they've liked it are a few people on this website.
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I thought that was probably The English Patient. Yeah, I've seen it (and am one of the few who liked it).
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I try to watch all of the credits, but it can get tedious, especially if the music playing is rubbish.
Many of the FX-laden popcorn films of the last decade or two have very long credits, even discounting the added bonus scenes, aka "stingers", sprinkled throughout. The producers hire a half dozen or more visual effects companies, and each company feels the need to list every employee.
The extended editions of the Lord of the Rings films had end credits that lasted 20 minutes.
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I've seen them all, except possibly for #130, because I can't tell what it is from that picture.
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I haven't seen Lady By Choice or The War Against Mrs. Hadley.
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On 11/28/2019 at 11:03 AM, Gershwin fan said:
Also the grocery scene was just terrible, you could tell it was an older person with a young face put on. They should have just hired a different actor.
WARNING: SPOILERS
After mulling over the movie for a couple of days, I've decided to drop it down a notch, to an 8/10. And it's mainly due to the scene you reference above. That should have been a very powerful, pivotal moment, shocking in its brutality, as it shapes the relationship De Niro's character has with that daughter who witnesses it for the rest of their lives/the rest of the movie. Instead one can't help but notice the clumsiness of the aged De Niro, and he looks all of his 76 years with his awkward posture and unsure physicality. It undercuts the moment to a fatal degree.
There were also a handful of what seemed like flubbed lines that were left in. And Pacino's disappearing accent didn't help.
I still thought it was the best movie I've seen from 2019, although that may change as I see more. I liked most of the film, and I thought the acting was good for the most part. I liked the little character moments, like the road trip with De Niro and Pesci and their wives, or the whole sequence with De Niro, Jesse Plemons as Hoffa's son, and the killer with the thick glasses and their discussions about transporting fish in one's car.
I've also read some complaints about the film's final act, as De Niro's character ages into retirement, and the ravages of old age, and the lasting effects of his lifestyle on his final years. The complaints say that this portion of the movie goes on too long and is dull, but I'd argue just the opposite. It's only during this last act that the film's themes come sharply into focus, and it's what differentiates The Irishman from Scorsese's other gangster pictures.
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I made a deliberate effort not to buy anything today, or tomorrow or Monday. I'll see if it holds up.
I'm trying not to buy as much, and in fact I'm starting to seriously contemplate how to get rid of my collection, as the end draws nearer. Or I'll just leave them all here and let who ever finds my corpse sort it out. But I feel that would be one final act of selfishness that I don't need to do.
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I think what some were alluding to is that Disney may choose to withdraw The Simpsons from syndication and make it exclusive to their own streaming service.
I was never a fan, but I was too old when it premiered. I understand it's an institution to a certain generation or two that grew up with the series, but I never got into it.
And I just saw a statement from the show's producers saying that there is no plan to end the show, the next season is already in pre-production, and additional seasons are planned afterward.
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3 minutes ago, CinemaInternational said:
102 is The Spiral Staircase.....
Then I've seen it, but it's been 30 years or more.
Is the other Synanon (1965)? If so, I have not seen it.
I Just Watched...
in General Discussions
Posted
Elizabeth I had various skin and hair issues, much like many people in the less-than-hygienic 16th century. She suffered from various maladies, and also wore lead-based make-ups that caused further hair loss and skin problems. She often wore ornate wigs and heavy make-up in public.
For further info:
Unhealthy Times of Queen Elizabeth I
https://www.cebm.net/2018/10/11378/