peedub said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I'm just not a fan of MJB as a singer, other than "Love No Limit", and that's probably more about the song itself.

But I am glad you brought up Mudbound. I heard about it for a few minutes in the media, then it just seems to have disappeared. I see nothing about it anywhere. It was a great reminder for me to find it and watch it. Every Oscar season we try to go through all 10 best pic noms but Mudbound wasn't a best pic nom. It sort of fell out of my mind frame. Now it's back on my list.

i'm referring to her speaking voice...i'm not a big fan of her singing...

it's an excellent movie, perhaps overlooked for an oscar nod...i defy you to not be constantly remembering val kilmer's performance as doc holiday in 'tombstone' while enjoying garrett hedlund's performance in 'mudbound'.

No best picture, that's true, but it got a few other Oscar nominations:

Supporting actress

Adapted screenplay

Original song

Cinematography

Speaking of the Oscars, I'm way behind this year in my annual quest to see every nominated film. I've got the best picture nominees covered, but have many gaps in the less popular categories so I'll try to see one movie each day for the next few weeks starting with:



The Greatest Showman (2017) - Celebrates the birth of show business, and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

The musical numbers weren't bad, but the heavy-handed preachiness was tiresome. 2.5/5

Ace said:

damosuzuki said:

someone on twitter just called shape of water 'grinding nemo'

You guys may or may not know that it was shot in Toronto (with a soupcon of Hamilton, apparently).

P.S. I've met del Toro. Sweetheart of a guy. Gave me a big bear-hug!

that's pretty damned cool - and that's pretty much how i would expect him to be.

viva (2007) 4/5

cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) 5/5 two hours spent with a woman waiting to receive a potential cancer diagnosis. this has a very different focus from the other classic french new wave films i've seen recently (400 blows, breathless), but it shares the same kind of feel & energy & it's every bit as great as those other movies.

RodeoSchro said:

Wouldn't it have been cool to hear the pitch given that got funding for this movie? "My proposal is to re-make one of the biggest bombs in Hollywood history. All I need is a budget of $40 million and we're on!"

sexton said:

Ace said:

I wondered about that, too. I remember thinking, 'I wonder how Kevin Spacey feels about the outpouring of praise for this movie?'

It's a funny ol' world.

Having seen the movie, other than it being about a relationship between two males with an age gap, there is no similarity between it and Kevin Spacey's problems.

I'm exaggerating. But the movie's about an older man hooking up with a barely-legal boy. And everyone's like: .

So, I'd agree with this from TD3:

...Moral relativism. . . . In lite of the political climate, the MeToo campaign, allegations of sexual harassment/violence and in lite of Hollywood and Award Show's have taken political stances about everything; I find the silence or the shutting down of any criticism of this movie hypocritical.

RodeoSchro said:

sexton said:

Bravo to you for enduring this art film. I thought for sure the story about a sociopathic aristocrat who kills a child, blames it on the help and gets away with it, you'd find reprehensible.

LMAO, thanks! It was pretty boring until luckily people started bleeding.

damosuzuki said:

cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) 5/5 two hours spent with a woman waiting to receive a potential cancer diagnosis. this has a very different focus from the other classic french new wave films i've seen recently (400 blows, breathless), but it shares the same kind of feel & energy & it's every bit as great as those other movies.

Has been on my "Try and Watch These" list for a long time. Maybe I'll get there one day...

Ace said:

I'm exaggerating. But the movie's about an older man hooking up with a barely-legal boy. And everyone's like: .

So, I'd agree with this from TD3:

...Moral relativism. . . . In lite of the political climate, the MeToo campaign, allegations of sexual harassment/violence and in lite of Hollywood and Award Show's have taken political stances about everything; I find the silence or the shutting down of any criticism of this movie hypocritical.

To be more specific, it's about a teenage boy of the age of consent who comes onto a not much older man who first spends time with the teen and realizes he's mature enough to handle the relationship before they hook up. It's a beautiful love story worthy of all the . No sexual harassment/violence whatsoever in it so I respectfully disagree with both you and TD3.

[Edited 2/13/18 14:50pm]

sexton said:

The Greatest Showman (2017) - Celebrates the birth of show business, and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

The musical numbers weren't bad, but the heavy-handed preachiness was tiresome. 2.5/5

I refuse to see this. I love a good musical but to whitewash and normalize Barnum's overt racism in favor of a feel-good version of Freaks is unconscionable.

sexton said:

Ace said:

I'm exaggerating. But the movie's about an older man hooking up with a barely-legal boy. And everyone's like: .

So, I'd agree with this from TD3:

To be more specific, it's about a teenage boy of the age of consent who comes onto a not much older man who first spends time with the teen and realizes he's mature enough to handle the relationship before they hook up. It's a beautiful love story worthy of all the . No sexual harassment/violence whatsoever in it so I respectfully disagree with both you and TD3.

[Edited 2/13/18 14:50pm]

i completely agree with sexton.

there's nothing in this relationship that's predatory, & it's not a simple hook-up.

i'd encourage ace to see it. it's a truly great movie.

[Edited 2/13/18 14:59pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

sexton said:

The Greatest Showman (2017) - Celebrates the birth of show business, and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

The musical numbers weren't bad, but the heavy-handed preachiness was tiresome. 2.5/5

I refuse to see this. I love a good musical but to whitewash and normalize Barnum's overt racism in favor of a feel-good version of Freaks is unconscionable.

Critics have been meh about this movie, but I'm amazed at the rave reviews from the general audience:

Rotten Tomatoes - 89% Liked it, 4.5/5 average rating

Metacritic - 7.7/10 User Score

IMDB - 8.0/10

namepeace said:

Goodfellas (1990)

One of the great movies of my lifetime, and of all time.

.75


Casino (1995)

Not as good as Goodfellas, but a sprawling, fascinating look at Las Vegas and a showcase for so many great actors.

.75

Indeed such a wonderful film, even though the subject matter is far from being a pretty one, is very enjoyable film.

sexton said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I refuse to see this. I love a good musical but to whitewash and normalize Barnum's overt racism in favor of a feel-good version of Freaks is unconscionable.

Critics have been meh about this movie, but I'm amazed at the rave reviews from the general audience:

Rotten Tomatoes - 89% Liked it, 4.5/5 average rating

Metacritic - 7.7/10 User Score

IMDB - 8.0/10

It might be fair to say people are more easily entertained by a song than they are thinking about the ramifications of whitewashing racism.

TrivialPursuit said:

sexton said:

Critics have been meh about this movie, but I'm amazed at the rave reviews from the general audience:

Rotten Tomatoes - 89% Liked it, 4.5/5 average rating

Metacritic - 7.7/10 User Score

IMDB - 8.0/10

It might be fair to say people are more easily entertained by a song than they are thinking about the ramifications of whitewashing racism.

Barnum's discrimination against his performers was reduced to one scene. But whitewashing aside, I found it too blunt in its pandering. It's not a smart movie at all.

sexton said:

Ace said:

I'm exaggerating. But the movie's about an older man hooking up with a barely-legal boy. And everyone's like: .

So, I'd agree with this from TD3:

To be more specific, it's about a teenage boy of the age of consent who comes onto a not much older man who first spends time with the teen and realizes he's mature enough to handle the relationship before they hook up. It's a beautiful love story worthy of all the . No sexual harassment/violence whatsoever in it so I respectfully disagree with both you and TD3.

[Edited 2/13/18 14:50pm]

Even if it weren't, even if it was about a predatory story, it's just a story. I saw For A Lost Soldier, and that story is a little more difficult to digest.

The preachiness about embracing the freaks, that fame is "Never Enough", and that commitment to family is important? Yes, these themes are hardly revolutionary and perhaps they are conveyed in a heavy handed manner at times, but if this is preaching I'm going back to church, especially if Hugh Jackson is there to sell it!

sexton said:

Speaking of the Oscars, I'm way behind this year in my annual quest to see every nominated film. I've got the best picture nominees covered, but have many gaps in the less popular categories so I'll try to see one movie each day for the next few weeks starting with:



The Greatest Showman (2017) - Celebrates the birth of show business, and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

The musical numbers weren't bad, but the heavy-handed preachiness was tiresome. 2.5/5

Ace said:

damosuzuki said:

cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) 5/5 two hours spent with a woman waiting to receive a potential cancer diagnosis. this has a very different focus from the other classic french new wave films i've seen recently (400 blows, breathless), but it shares the same kind of feel & energy & it's every bit as great as those other movies.

Has been on my "Try and Watch These" list for a long time. Maybe I'll get there one day...

btw, 'cleo...' is available on kanopy, so if you have a toronto library card you can stream it for free.

kanopy just went on line here in winnipeg. it's chock-full of great stuff - it has quite a nice little selection of criterion releases.

I, Tonya (2017) - Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.

The mockumentary-styled framing sequence for the movie worked really well. Very funny! 4/5

sexton said:

I, Tonya (2017) - Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.

The mockumentary-styled framing sequence for the movie worked really well. Very funny! 4/5

Yuuuup every scene the Shawn the bodyguard (played by Paul Walter Hauser) was in made me laugh "I don't know a Tony Harding,"

Today I watched Black Panther (2018) and not only is it my fav film of the year so far, it's hands down my all-time fav Marvel film. It had everything I look for in a superhero film, a great story, beautifully shot, lots of action, an amazing soundtrack, beefcake scenes galore and a great message. Plus, the cast was top notch especially Danai Gurira as Okoye and Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger I give this Marvel classic a 5 out of 5 PS. Stay for the mid and end credit scenes.

btw, the great don hertzfeldt posted his 2000 academy award nominated short film 'rejected' on vimeo today. it's streaming for free. it's only 8 minutes long, and i think it's fantastic, like all of his films.
for some reason, you have to click 'watch trailer' instead of clicking the play button when the tab opens in vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/rejected

The Square (2017) - A prestigious Stockholm museum's chief art curator finds himself in times of both professional and personal crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit.

The surreal absurdity reminded me of a Buñuel movie. I liked it a lot, but it's a little too strange to win the Oscar for foreign language film I think. 4/5

Goddess4Real said:

Today I watched Black Panther (2018) and not only is it my fav film of the year so far, it's hands down my all-time fav Marvel film. It had everything I look for in a superhero film, a great story, beautifully shot, lots of action, an amazing soundtrack, beefcake scenes galore and a great message. Plus, the cast was top notch especially Danai Gurira as Okoye and Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger I give this Marvel classic a 5 out of 5 PS. Stay for the mid and end credit scenes.

How dare you?!

sexton said:

Ace said:

I'm exaggerating. But the movie's about an older man hooking up with a barely-legal boy. And everyone's like: .

So, I'd agree with this from TD3:

To be more specific, it's about a teenage boy of the age of consent who comes onto a not much older man who first spends time with the teen and realizes he's mature enough to handle the relationship before they hook up. It's a beautiful love story worthy of all the . No sexual harassment/violence whatsoever in it so I respectfully disagree with both you and TD3.

[Edited 2/13/18 14:50pm]

The kid's supposed to be 17 and the man 24, I think? Imagine it if were a 24-year-old straight dude and a 17-year-old girl. I think people would be outraged, don't you?

damosuzuki said:

Ace said:

Has been on my "Try and Watch These" list for a long time. Maybe I'll get there one day...

btw, 'cleo...' is available on kanopy, so if you have a toronto library card you can stream it for free.

kanopy just went on line here in winnipeg. it's chock-full of great stuff - it has quite a nice little selection of criterion releases.

Thanks, damo! I'd already signed up for Kanopy, but haven't had time to watch anything there yet.

Ace said:

sexton said:

To be more specific, it's about a teenage boy of the age of consent who comes onto a not much older man who first spends time with the teen and realizes he's mature enough to handle the relationship before they hook up. It's a beautiful love story worthy of all the . No sexual harassment/violence whatsoever in it so I respectfully disagree with both you and TD3.

[Edited 2/13/18 14:50pm]

The kid's supposed to be 17 and the man 24, I think? Imagine it if were a 24-year-old straight dude and a 17-year-old girl. I think people would be outraged, don't you?

A relationship within the same context as in the movie? Outraged? No.

Molly's Game (2017) - The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.

Another cracking screenplay from Aaron Sorkin. And Jessica Chastain looks absolutely stunning. 4/5

sexton said:

Ace said:

The kid's supposed to be 17 and the man 24, I think? Imagine it if were a 24-year-old straight dude and a 17-year-old girl. I think people would be outraged, don't you?

A relationship within the same context as in the movie? Outraged? No.

K.