[Brad]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Yeah, this is supposed to be his "Mickey Rourke The Wrestler role/comeback, from all I've read and am hearing. Be out of the public eye for years, keep your nose clean/free from scandal/bad behavior and transform yourself to star in a tear-jerking Oscar-bait project by a serious director, and suddenly you're in everyone's good graces again and everyone's rooting for you to sweep the awards.

FWIW, I don't think he was ever out of everyone's good graces. He didn't have any scandals of his own, as far as I know. My understanding is he disappeared from the spotlight for a long time because he went through a bad divorce resulting in a huge alimony settlement that assumed he'd keep banking millions, had to undergo major surgeries to repair some years-old back injuries, and to add insult to injury, may have been blacklisted in some circles for resisting and speaking out about some Hollywood big-wig who sexually assaulted him. I know he's been slowly coming back into the spotlight the last few years from his work in DC's Doom Patrol, at least. I tried watching the first couple episodes a few years ago when it came out, and none of it really hooked my attention, but I know some fans are pretty vocal about their love of it.

[drewprops]

Very good encapsulation of what I've read about Brendan. It's neat that he's having this renaissance. Please don't let him burn out. Doom Patrol was fun the first few seasons, but has become intricately convoluted in the style of Doctor Who - so action-packed that it all becomes forgettable. It's best to binge an entire season for the sugar rush


...

[709]

Doom Patrol is fucking fantastic and I won't hear otherwise. It's surprising, heartbreaking, disgusting and most of all hilarious – it's honestly one of my favorite things out there right now. It's got a pretty solid cast, and honestly I was surprised at first that Fraser was a part of it. Not because I thought it might be weird for him to do a comic book series, but because I didn't even know he was still acting. He's great in it – even if most of it is voiceover.

Also, Nic Cage is doing some of the best work of his career right now*. Mandy was wild, Color Out of Space was wierd, Pig was great. I haven't seen TUWOMT yet, but it sounds like what Paul is talking about – we all realize it but someone out there went and made a movie about it. I'll have to move it closer to the top of my list of things to watch.

*He's also doing some of the worst work of his career too. I choose to highlight the good because I like the guy.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Brad FWIW, I don't think he was ever out of everyone's good graces.

Yeah, I framed that wrong. Fraser isn't/hasn't been in trouble. He's not Kevin Spacey or Harvey Weinstein. He just kinda laid low and fell off the map for a while, losing that Mummy momentum. But this Whale role/performance is being seen as a "comeback" vehicle for him, with all the positive reviews and heavy, grim subject matter. "Back in everyone's memories/eyeline" would've been a better way to phrase it.

Anytime an attractive actor (male or female) makes themselves less so (Charlize Theron in Monster, etc.), in a "serious" drama (vs. any sort of fantasy, sci-fi or comic book movie), there's usually immediate Oscar talk/payoff. If Brad Pitt ever wants an Oscar for acting, all he needs to do is tear off half his face, shave his head, mess up his teeth, gain 130-lbs. and give himself some sort of physical or speech impediment (limp or lisp). He'll be a shoe-in for Best Actor. The Academy eats that shit up.

"We love it when our biggest stars aren't complete gods and goddesses!" - AMPAS

Yes, we know.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Brad Oh yeah. Unbearable Weight is 1000 percent him being "in on the joke", but somehow it didn't come off as totally cringey or hammy to me. I'm not sure if it helps or hurts that I haven't seen any other movies starring him in recent years. Last one would have been... let me check his IMDB credits... oh, I guess he voiced "Noire" Spider-man in 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but I feel like that doesn't count... hmm... I guess nothing since 2010's Kick-Ass. Jesus, this list. Cage really does appear to just agree to star in anything with a paycheck.

Michael Caine was that way throughout the 80's I worked at a video rental store (remember those?) in the '86-'87 timeframe and I think he was on the cover or all the boxes. I kept joking "do we just need to have a dedicated Michael Caine wall/section? It's not even March and he's already been in about seven movies!" Jaws: The Revenge?!? What was he thinking, other than "I need me a new yacht!"

[psmith2.0]

Just scanning the movies/showtimes currently in place here in Chattanooga. Is it weird that the only thing I'd even remotely considering going to see is Cocaine Bear? Not sure if that says more about me or the state of movies these days. Perhaps a bit of both? No Ant-Man, no Whale or Creed 37 (I think those movies are pretty bad...they're not recreating the original Rocky "magic" with them, despite all their efforts to do so. Nope, just give me a rampaging, coked-up bear for my entertainment dollar! I'm actually in a real mood to see some sort of Western, maybe with Robert Duvall drawling, grizzled and acting all crotchety the way he does in so many of these things (Open Range, Lonesome Dove etc.). Throw in Billy Bob Thornton and let's just have an accent-fest while we're at it! Nothing I love more than hearing Southern accents on the big screen. Especially when I was living in SoCal for those 8-9 years and was so homesick...used to make me tear up/get all dewy-eyed hearing Tennessee/Georgia accents in a movie right in the middle of Orange or San Diego County. "I can't grow old and grey, and die, out here; these ain't my people. Hell, I can't stand most of 'em! California pricks..."

Moving back here in late 2002 was one of the best thing I've ever done for my happiness and mental grounding...realizing, and accepting, I just wasn't where I was supposed to be was powerful, and, within a month, I was driving back east, through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas - my fourth cross-country trip in about 5-6 years (enough that I was familiar with some of the signage, town names and roadside attractions/stops throughout the desert Southwest and West Texas so many billboards advertising "Indian blankets and moccasins" or "LIVE RATTLESNAKES!", NEXT EXIT!) and finally to all that grey, leafless winter gloom that is the Southeast in December. "Perhaps I should've waited until spring, when things are lush and green again?" "Man, maybe I should've thought this through just a bit more; my timing really sucks." I just remember it raining/drizzling, and not seeing the sun, for about 2-3 weeks straight after arriving back here. 'WTF?! Yes, I was miserable in California, but I had sunshine and dry weather! Frying pan, meet fire. Our situation has not improved..."

Geography matters. Your heart lives/belongs somewhere, IMO. Mine does. I'll never leave here again, except maybe to go be with my beautiful Canadian bunny I love on Vancouver Island some day, if she'll have me. Jury's still out on that one at the moment... *sniff*

[psmith2.0]

Heads up to those interested and still on traditional cable: tomorrow (Sunday, March 12, at least here in the U.S.), the Sundance Channel is playing the Leone/Eastwood "Dollars" trilogy ("A Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly") staring around 1:45pm, I believe.

I plan to hunker down with some chips and salsa and a refreshing adult beverage and watch them. I love those movies. So enjoyable and stylish, with a great look/vibe. I was just talking about how much of "The Mandalorian" owes to these things, the whole "quiet, lone bad-ass/man of action/shoot first, ask later" thing). John Wick/Liam Neeson before either existed, just killing those who richly have it coming. I find that sort of fare quite satisfying, being completely honest (bad, evil people getting theirs). I just find Westerns, in general, enjoyable, and these ones, particularly so! 🤠

I've seen them all about 7-8 times each, but I don't care. A good movie is a good movie, multiple viewings. Ask me how many times I've seen "Jaws" (my all-time favorite)...probably 75-80, not exaggerating. I know every line, scene, camera move, musical cue, background extra, transition, throwaway background line of dialogue, etc. About as lean and perfect as a movie has ever been. Spielberg was on absolute fire from 1975-1981, with my three favorite movies of all-time: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark! I cannot get enough of any of them. I'll watch any/all of those three, any time, any day. I have, in fact.

The only movie poster I own is the Jaws one, given to me by a friend/trivia teammate several years ago. I took it to Michael's and promptly had it framed and it's hanging in my living room for the past 9-10 years. Looking at it right now. 😍

[turtle]

I do miss those movies. I should look them up and watch them again. Tomorrow isn't gonna happen, but I remember loving The Good, the Bad & the Ugly.

[psmith2.0]

For a Few Dollars More is my favorite of the three. It has the most interesting plot and cast, IMO. I love Lee Van Cleef's Colonel Mortimer character throughout. Cool as a cucumber. Manages to make Eastwood look a bit twitchy in comparison. I just love the scenery, sound, music, the tension, lingering shots, etc. I've had this channel/these movies on all day, enjoying my favorite pats and just letting the rest be pleasant background sound/visuals. I like to work/read/create while movies or Law & Order or game shows are playing in the background. They don't distract as much as fuel, for some reason. I can't work/concentrate in complete silence or "morgue" conditions. I like/need a little something happening in my periphery. It's fun to take in a movie or TV show via audio only. The story/plot becomes crystal clear because I'm not looking at any distractions on screen. Doing this is how I finally grasped The Matrix. Watching it only overwhelmed my senses, but just hearing it made all the difference to me.

You have to wait for things in these movies. It's not No-Attention-Span Cinema, these things. My niece and nephew wouldn't make it 10 minutes into this stuff. Speaking of which, my sister showed my nephew (17) Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time the other evening (Saturday night) and she said he didn't really like it. I just can't wrap my head around that. We can all debate/argue Marvel/DC stuff, or our honest reactions to the Star Wars sequels (or any of the Disney-era SW output (TV shows, sequel trilogy, the standalone "anthology" releases), but who, other than my chucklehead nephew, can't/doesn't like Raiders of the Lost Ark? There's nothing wrong with it. Nothing offensive or off-putting to modern, hyper-sensitive and Enlightened™ audiences. The bad guys are Nazis, hello? Or are we no longer allowed to show that anymore, for some stupid reason? Those pricks will, and should, be go-to cinematic villains until the end of time. That never gets old, and there's zero ambiguity or "well, you gotta see both sides, there are some shades of grey involved you need to understand, Paul...".

a) No I don't, and b) no there isn't. F*** 'em.

Gotta have a talk with this kid. "What, exactly, did you not like about it?!" This is a generation that plays kickball/dodgeball on their iPhone, vs. going outside and doing it for real with their buddies in the neighborhood, so I already don't "get them". I just wanna hear, specifically, what he didn't find appealing/interesting. Because I think it's just perfect and engaging, all the way through! The action never stops, and when it lets up a little, then it's great, interesting exposition and backstory (what Hitler's up to, Abner Ravenwood, how Toht only had one side of Marion's medallion burned into his hand, and not getting the full info on the location of the Well of Souls, so the Nazis are "digging in the wrong place", etc. He and his buddies have grown up on nothing but fantastical, over-the-top CGI and video game cut scene cinematography, so something so "real" and devoid of big, flashy CGI and over-the-top visuals/set pieces, like 1981's Raiders, must be akin to me watching those 1930's Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers serials, where you see the strings on the spaceship models and the dime-store sparklers acting as their rocket engines.

However, I can still appreciate those things for what they are/represent, and enjoy watching them. I've seen many (most?) of them! I don't let the era or quality/believability of visuals/special effects blatantly impact my enjoyment of a movie. I can recognize the time they were filmed and cut some slack on that front and watch it for the pioneering visual/cinematic time capsule it is. Great effects don't make, or break, a movie. They can only sit on/ride along atop the story/plot. The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker had amazing visuals and CGI work...and I couldn't tell you one meaningful, memorable thing about either of them as I sit here typing this. Raiders is all there on the screen, with nothing to really "date" it except, perhaps, the very ending with the stuff flying/shooting out of the Ark itself, and the face-melting sequences/time-lapse work, which might look a little dated to current-day teenagers, who've grown up on Harry Potter, the MCU and high-end, do-everything smartphones/tablets. Way more savvy and tougher to fool, modern audiences are (why am I talking like Yoda?).

[drewprops]

I just had to share this here because it's so funny.

There's a group on Facebook where film industry people share stories. A guy named James Latta posted the following:

////

"UH OH! SEAN CONNERY IS COMING!" SONY STUDIOS STORY

At one point in the mid 1990's I made the segue from production into entertainment merchandising & branding. I was in a meeting once with some of the upper brass at Sony Studios (on the old MGM lot) and it seemed like everyone in the corporate offices was in a bit of a tizzy. They appeared distracted and nervous. Even the receptionist. And I could tell the exec's I was speaking with were waiting for our scheduled meeting to be over, as soon as possible. Which was usually not the case, as we'd be discussing their projects and properties. We wrapped things up early. And I was left chatting with my one of my main contacts, who was a studio VP. So I asked him :

Me: "What's wrong? It seems like everybody is on pins & needles today."

VP: "Oh. It's just Sean Connery is dropping by this afternoon."

Me: "What? Sean Connery. That's awesome!"

VP: "No, no actually it isn't." "He comes by once a year. Every year. He's done so for decades."

"Since Sony acquired MGM/UA, who distributed the James Bond films. He does a financial audit of our annual accounting."

Me: "For licensing & merchandising?"

VP: "For EVERYTHING. Connery comes in and takes over a conference room on this floor and puts on his eyeglasses. And he brings an old school general ledger with him. And with pencils, he audits every single 007 film himself. Line by line. No accounting firm. No bookkeeper. Just him, by himself. He's here for hours and hours. Sometimes days."

"It's horrible."

Me: "Really?"

VP: "Yes, he freaks everybody out on this floor, as he is so serious. He's like a CPA. He calls us out on every single question he has."

"And he's not afraid to yell at us."

Me: "Wow!"

VP "He's 6' 2', which makes him even more intimidating."

(Note: I had met Sean Connery twice before. At the world premiere of the film "City Heat" (1984) and then again at the premiere of "First Knight" (1995) on the Sony backlot. I stand 6' tall and yet he seemed to tower over me in person.)

VP: "He will question us on almost every line item. Brings out budget reports and points at them. Accuses us of engaging in 'creative studio accounting'."

(NOTE: Best to read the following Sean Connery quotes in his voice with a Scottish accent.)

Connery: "WHAT'S THIS?!"

Connery: "WHAT'S THAT?!"

Connery: "WHY IN THE HELL WOULD YOU CHARGE THAT?!!"

VP: "He'll ask us why did the studio charge for 10 to 20 staffers on a marketing campaign for the re-release of a Bond film on DVD, when only a couple were necessary...in HIS opinion."

(Note: Again in Sean's voice)

Connery: "AH-HA! SEEEE?! I GOT you again!"

Me: "I can just imagine him calling you guys out with his accent! Like a scene from 'The Untouchables' or something. Sean poking at you with a clipboard again and again! Lol. "

(I laughed but you could tell the concern on the face of the studio executive was genuine as he frowned.)

VP: "Yeah well, we eventually just gave up. The studio cooperates with Connery fully, and we adjust his royalties as he demands. Even if we don't agree with him, in order to get it all over with as quickly as possible. You need to GO."


...

[psmith2.0]

I’d hate to argue with him. It’s Mr. Universe, James Bond and Indy’s old man, all rolled into one. There would be nothing left of me. He wasn’t averse to slapping folks. And, no…being Indiana Jones or possessing a vagina didn’t buy you a pass on that either.

“Give the old coot whatever he wants. We don’t need a fight here today…a building full of hipster millennials ganging up on an octagenarian. We’re still toast, because it’s THAT octagenarian, and not Burl Ives or Don Knotts! He’ll murder us all, and look really cool doing it!”

Why do I have the feeling this will be Harrison Ford soon?

These hard case, alpha, crabapple actors need to die in their late 40’s in a drunken bar fight in Spain or somewhere, as God intended, and not be an 80/90-year-old pain in everyone’s ass.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 I’d hate to argue with him. It’s Mr. Universe, James Bond and Indy’s old man, all rolled into one. There would be nothing left of me. He wasn’t averse to slapping folks. And, no…being Indiana Jones or possessing a vagina didn’t buy you a pass on that either. “Give the old coot whatever he wants. We don’t need a fight here today…a building full of hipster millennials ganging up on an octagenarian. We’re still toast, because it’s THAT octagenarian, and not Burl Ives or Don Knotts! He’ll murder us all, and look really cool doing it!” Why do I have the feeling this will be Harrison Ford soon? These hard case, alpha, crabapple actors need to die in their late 40’s in a drunken bar fight in Spain or somewhere, as God intended, and not be an 80/90-year-old pain in everyone’s ass.

Honestly I think just about anyone could take Harrison Ford in a bar fight at this point.

[Matsu]

I just watched "Air". I liked it, and though it had a lot of f-bombs in it, I let the boys watch it too, and at 9 and 11, they liked it too. My littlest was genuinely star struck when they unveiled... the shoe. It's sort of fun explaining things like "tape archives" and VHS VCRs to them. It made me want to ask folks here: 70's 80's 90's films you'd absolutely recommend to watch with your kids? They should be good, entertaining fare, but if you want to sneak in a couple on the grounds of "here's what it was like when I grew up..." I'll take it.

[709]

Any last-century Spielberg, honestly. Close Encounters, Raiders, and E.T. would be my top picks. Jaws if you think it's appropriate – I saw it on the big screen at 9 and survived, though I'm still leery of jump scares (the underwater head got me good).

Gremlins & Goonies of course.

To highlight the ridiculousness of what we thought our current digital age would be you could slip in Hackers and Lawnmower Man, but I think they both have bewbs iirc. Tron is a decent pick for old-school graphic goodness.

Brazil, for a taste of that sort of humor. The Fly for a taste of that sort of horror.

I don't know if they'd go for it, but classic Rod Serling Twilight Zone is marvelous, virtuous TV. Don't hold the latter against it.

[drewprops]

Condor-Man!!!


...

[Kickaha]

So the first trailer for Ridley Scott's _Napoleon_ is out.

Two details jumped out at me:

1) "exclusively in movie theaters this Thanksgiving"

2) "Apple Original Films"

Well... huh.

[drewprops]

I saw that today!
Same reaction.
Also: zee actor, he does not twy to soun Fwench.

It looks decent.

So the streaming model isn't apparently as spectacular as they'd hoped.

Income is apparently more difficult for studios to predict, as consumers pop in and out of paying for streaming memberships all the time.

The cost of building, launching, and maintaining a streaming platform is no small thing. It sounds like that effort was foolish for some. Some are going to merge, some will fail.

Looks like Apple is going big time, and they could pull it off as a features studio.


...

[psmith2.0]

I saw that trailer last night. Something about it made me chuckle, seeing wingnut Phoenix putting on that crown. And him, of all people, playing this character. The guys in the white with the nets were obviously nearby.

Phoenix has shown himself to be a bit to the Crispin Glover side of the scale, so I thnk Hollywood reinforces that and keeps throwing the batshit crazy roles his way. Joker, Napoleon, the heavy in [i]Gladiator[/], pill-addled Johnny Cash, etc. i have no doubt he’ll play Putin (or Elon Musk) before it’s all over.

I did like that scene at the end of the trailer where the other army somehow got lured onto a frozen lake, only to discover the fact too late and pay dearly for it. Probably the most “fucked up by water, cinema-wise” scene after Moses Heston and that whole Red Sea business in The Ten Commandments, with all those Roman soldiers in chariots buying it so spectacularly.

A friendly tip: if you’re in the bad guy army (Nazis, etc.) in any movie, stay away from water! Lakes, rivers, ponds, seas, mud puddles, etc. They will always be what takes you out! You won’t survive. A duck pond, a swimming pool, whatever. Stay away if you want to stick around until the third act/credits roll.

Sometimes, when watching a Ridley Scott movie - or even a trailer - I can’t help but think “this guy just wanted to blow a lot of money!!”

[Kickaha]

Heh. The ice scene is (presumably) the Battle of Austerlitz. If so, there have been... liberties taken. (Any fraternities or egalities taken are speculative.)

I don't see this *necessarily* as indicative of streaming being in trouble, but it struck me that this is Apple getting into movies in a big way, encroaching on the traditional movie space without much prior public fanfare. Which is, frankly, very Apple. "Oh, yeah, heh... we're doing that."

If this were Amazon Studios, they would have been advertising it on their main page for the past year.

[709]

Between this and Killers of the Flower Moon Apple Original Films is going to have some fun at the Oscars next year. Look alive Tim Cook! Ya sourpuss.

[psmith2.0]

I can’t imagine a more boring Oscar acceptance speech than one given by Tim Cook. Not sure which would win out: the platitudes or the pandering. Steve said a lot with a little, Tim says little with a lot. Human NyQuil.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by Kickaha So the first trailer for Ridley Scott's _Napoleon_ is out. Two details jumped out at me: 1) "exclusively in movie theaters this Thanksgiving" 2) "Apple Original Films" Well... huh.

IIRC the Academy tweaked the rules to exclude films that premiere on streaming sites? Netflix bought a movie theater for a similar purpose.