Movies

Saw some movies this summer since I've been away...

Midsommar (holy fuck, this one fucked me up more than Hereditary to be honest. The graphic nature of some of the scenes was just too much, but as a whole I loved the darkness of it).

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (solid, easy-going movie with a big finish. Can't deny really enjoying myself. Once I got into the vibe, I felt like I could have sat there for hours just riding around with the characters).

The Lion King (completely unnecessary? yes. still good to look at? yes. Look, much has been said of this all over the internet. I don't think it's as awful as everyone says it is. And i don't think adding in more animation to the faces would work cause it's supposed to look photo-realistic. But one thing they could have done? Something with the eyes! I think that's a big issue. Also the voice acting (almost all of it) fell very flat...and I didn't think I'd say that about Donald Glover and Beyonce but here we are)

It Chapter Two (forgettable, mostly. People are praising Bill Hader, but I think the only reason he gets so much of that attention is because it feels like he's the only one really trying in the movie. They have a great cast, but nobody seems to be doing much except him. There are good things about the movie, but mostly...it takes a lot of the bad from the book and puts it on screen, making for a messy, boring, languid movie that really should have been better)

others I'm probably forgetting
 
over the last week:

Porco Rosso (nth rewatch): still among my very favorite movies. just a perfect little diamond amidst Miyazaki's considerable oeuvre, and easily his funniest movie.

Night is Short, Walk on Girl: visually dazzling, outre, and so packed with incident that it seems to go on much longer than it actually does. Found myself thinking about it a lot the next day, will probably end up rewatching before too long.

Bridget Jones' Diary: a charming, breezy twist on some well-worn tropes. I find it hard to dislike a movie with a Colin Firth and Hugh Grant operating so completely within their comfort zones. it ain't deep, but it is fun.

When Marnie Was There: what a sad way for Studio Ghibli to go out. it's got some of the surface level charm of its studio predecessors, but lacks any sort of directorial stamp. feels like it could have been made for TV. interesting ideas, poorly served.

The African Queen: the movie essentially rides on the charms of Bogart and Hepburn (both glorious). sharp and unusual on-location cinematography really helps sell the setting.
 
over the last week:

Porco Rosso (nth rewatch): still among my very favorite movies. just a perfect little diamond amidst Miyazaki's considerable oeuvre, and easily his funniest movie.

Night is Short, Walk on Girl: visually dazzling, outre, and so packed with incident that it seems to go on much longer than it actually does. Found myself thinking about it a lot the next day, will probably end up rewatching before too long.

Bridget Jones' Diary: a charming, breezy twist on some well-worn tropes. I find it hard to dislike a movie with a Colin Firth and Hugh Grant operating so completely within their comfort zones. it ain't deep, but it is fun.

When Marnie Was There: what a sad way for Studio Ghibli to go out. it's got some of the surface level charm of its studio predecessors, but lacks any sort of directorial stamp. feels like it could have been made for TV. interesting ideas, poorly served.

The African Queen: the movie essentially rides on the charms of Bogart and Hepburn (both glorious). sharp and unusual on-location cinematography really helps sell the setting.
Night Is Short is a pretty great little movie. There’s so much visually in it that I just love even if the story isn’t completely compelling all the way through.

I agree about When Marnie Was There. I bought it cause I wanted to keep building my Ghibli collection, but was pretty disappointed as a whole. It’s okay, I guess, but nothing makes me want to come back to it.
 
I watched Yesterday yesterday (that movie about The Beatles ceasing to exist after a blackout) and man it was a mess. I didn’t expect it to be good. Controversial opinion: I’m not a fan of Danny Boyle. But also the premise is...dumb. And even though I was going in with low expectations it still bothered me. The central conceit and what happens with it is never explored in any creative or fun way at all. And in the end, it didn’t feel like a celebration of the Beatles at all (which was at least what I was expecting). Like it just never felt like it was coming from a place of appreciation or love for them. But even setting that aside, the concept doesn’t work, the trajectory of the main character is ridiculous, and the ending, while sweet in a way, is just rushed and makes the whole idea of the movie seem utterly pointless.
 
Night Is Short is a pretty great little movie. There’s so much visually in it that I just love even if the story isn’t completely compelling all the way through.

I agree about When Marnie Was There. I bought it cause I wanted to keep building my Ghibli collection, but was pretty disappointed as a whole. It’s okay, I guess, but nothing makes me want to come back to it.

Night is Short I quite enjoyed while I was watching it and liked even more in hindsight, but I concur that the story occasionally lags. But the animation (see avatar) is just an absolute delight. The sight of the dark-haired girl proudly marching around in her guerilla-theater costume just makes me smile.

Marnie was fine, just...disappointing. And I liked Arrietty, by the same director! Though, to be fair, Miyazaki wrote the story for Arrietty, so it had that going for it.
 
Saw some movies this summer since I've been away...

Midsommar (holy fuck, this one fucked me up more than Hereditary to be honest. The graphic nature of some of the scenes was just too much, but as a whole I loved the darkness of it).

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (solid, easy-going movie with a big finish. Can't deny really enjoying myself. Once I got into the vibe, I felt like I could have sat there for hours just riding around with the characters).

The Lion King (completely unnecessary? yes. still good to look at? yes. Look, much has been said of this all over the internet. I don't think it's as awful as everyone says it is. And i don't think adding in more animation to the faces would work cause it's supposed to look photo-realistic. But one thing they could have done? Something with the eyes! I think that's a big issue. Also the voice acting (almost all of it) fell very flat...and I didn't think I'd say that about Donald Glover and Beyonce but here we are)

It Chapter Two (forgettable, mostly. People are praising Bill Hader, but I think the only reason he gets so much of that attention is because it feels like he's the only one really trying in the movie. They have a great cast, but nobody seems to be doing much except him. There are good things about the movie, but mostly...it takes a lot of the bad from the book and puts it on screen, making for a messy, boring, languid movie that really should have been better)

others I'm probably forgetting
Saw all of those movies and agree with pretty much everything you said
Saw the original and the extended version of Midsommar when it had a one day theater release , It's about 20 minutes longer and doesn't add a whole lot, but it actually makes it a bit better. It pads out some scenes, adds maybe 1 or 2 scenes and made Christian a bit more of a jerk.
My 5 year old daughter was so bored at the Lion King and she's pretty good at sitting through movies.
 
Ad Astra is a beautiful, meditative space movie, and I love meditative space movies.

Sadly, there were 3 or 4 groups that didn't agree and left the movie early, I think they expected something with more action... 🤷 (Still better than the loud drunk ladies that showed up halfway through Arrival when I saw it and talked and laughed through the last 30 minutes).
 
Between Two Ferns was awful, but at least it was short (and had hilarious outtakes during the credits)
 
I’m kind of interested in Ad Astra, but all the talk about how it’s gonna be the most accurate space movie ever just makes me suspect that it’s going to be an incredibly inaccurate space movie.

Some reviewers I respect liked it, but a good friend saw it over the weekend and described it as ‘a third rate Malick about daddy issues, and not nearly as beautiful.’
 
I watched Aladdin last night (the remake). Why? I don't know. Curiosity? Anyway, it was still just utterly pointless. The parts I thought would be the worst (Will Smith as Genie) actually ended up being the best parts. I also liked Nasim Pedrad. Everyone/everything else? Blah.
 
I’m kind of interested in Ad Astra, but all the talk about how it’s gonna be the most accurate space movie ever just makes me suspect that it’s going to be an incredibly inaccurate space movie.

Some reviewers I respect liked it, but a good friend saw it over the weekend and described it as ‘a third rate Malick about daddy issues, and not nearly as beautiful.’

After having a day to digest it, I'd say it has some similarity to Interstellar, but with things like the connections between people being important to the people, and not to the laws of physics (luckily). You spend A LOT of time with Brad Pitt's face, and there's a lot of his character narrating. The space shots are beautiful, but also done in a rather matter-of-fact way. There are action scenes, but they're spread out with more contemplative bits...

So, I guess this is a long way of saying your mileage may vary.
 
I watched Aladdin last night (the remake). Why? I don't know. Curiosity? Anyway, it was still just utterly pointless. The parts I thought would be the worst (Will Smith as Genie) actually ended up being the best parts. I also liked Nasim Pedrad. Everyone/everything else? Blah.

And speaking of Nasim, I can't wait for her new TBS show...

 
After having a day to digest it, I'd say it has some similarity to Interstellar, but with things like the connections between people being important to the people, and not to the laws of physics (luckily). You spend A LOT of time with Brad Pitt's face, and there's a lot of his character narrating. The space shots are beautiful, but also done in a rather matter-of-fact way. There are action scenes, but they're spread out with more contemplative bits...

So, I guess this is a long way of saying your mileage may vary.

I should point out that this friend is generally a fan of this sort of thing. Loves Malick.
 
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