What Did You Rent Last Night?

[cremetangerine82]

I watched CODA the night after its Best Picture Oscar win, and my mom and I cried like babies. It’s not the most ambitious movie and the ending is very predictable, but it really was emotionally affecting. My mom is a CODA (deaf mother) and my mom taught me to finger spell and over-pronounce my words so my grandma could better lip read to communicate with her (she was also blind in one eye). It’s a personal story to my mom and I, and it helped me understand how much my grandmother struggled in a hearing world. My mom and I agreed that Emilia Jones (the lead) was absolutely robbed of a Best Actress nomination.

I also watched The Power of the Dog the night before the Oscars, which I liked on a more cerebral level, especially with the extended dog metaphors (top dog, underdog, it’s a dog eat dog world, every dog has its day, dog days of the Wild West, the Bible verse of Psalm 22:20 which the movie title is derived, etc.). I also appreciate that we have another Western that critiques the (I know this phrase gets used a lot) toxic masculinity has affected Benedict Cumberbatch’s character. Also, this role is the best I’ve heard Cumberbatch handle an American accent. The supporting performances of Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and (especially) Kodi Smit-McPhee were great and definitely deserved their Oscar nominations.

I’ll get to Nightmare Alley, Dune, Drive My Car, and King Richard (Will Smith, ugh!). I’m not paying to see Licorice Pizza and Belfast is sadly also rent/buy.

Hell, I haven’t watched Nomadland yet!

ETA: Just watched Don’t Look Up, and I just couldn’t find the humor in something that is actually a real existential crisis in which we keep avoiding until it’s too late for our planet. I do love dark comedy and Dr. Strangelove… is one of my favorite movies of all time, but this movie fell flat for me. I did like the resolution for one character in the stinger scene! Also, I’m really pissed that this took a Best Picture nomination away from The Worst Person in the World. God forbid we have two Best Picture nominations that are not in English!

I watched Nightmare Alley last night and I really enjoyed it, especially the performances of Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett. The cinematography was also gorgeous, I was glad that was nominated for a Oscar (it lost to Dune). I really wanna watch the original 1947 movie with stars Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell because the 2021 movie is a remake.

Also saw the remake of West Side Story. It’s my favorite musical of all time, and I couldn’t have watched it in the theater because I would could not resist singing along to the songs! I loved Ariana DeBose (definitely deserved her Oscar), thought Rachel Zegler should have had a Best Actress nomination (at least she was invited to the Academy Awards at the last minute), and thought Ansel Elgort was a weak Tony.

[Deleted]

I watched Ghostbusters Afterlife. I liked it more than I was expecting to, and I think I just became a fan of McKenna Grace.

[cremetangerine82]

I watched Nomadland, and I really like the movie, especially how it captured the conflicting tones of both serenity and loneliness of the wandering lifestyle. I thought Frances McDormand was pretty solid (I think it’s impossible for her to give a bad performance), but I’m thinking she’s the one who didn’t deserve her Oscar. I do appreciation how the director Chloé Zhao was able to get great performances out of the non-actors, those were the most affecting parts of the movie. The cinematography was gorgeous, especially through the the different vistas.

Just watched Dune (Part I) and liked it, though if I wasn’t familiar with the source material (and the cheesy 1984 movie adaptation), I would have been lost. The cinematography, production design, and costumes definitely fit the definition of “a visual feast”. However, I’ve seen so many “The One who is prophesied” in media that’s a white cis-het man (Star Wars, The Matrix, Harry Potter, The Last Starfighter, The NeverEnding Story, Avatar, Terminator II: Judgement Day, The Mummy Returns, etc.), I’m totally burned out at this point. Also, Timothée Chalamet still looks 16 to me, so the “he’s too young” lines definitely makes more sense (Kyle MacLachlan looked like he was pushing 30 in the David Lynch movie).

I watched The Batman and I deeply enjoyed it. I liked it remembered that Bruce Wayne/Batman is a detective (DC stands for Detective Comics after all), Catwoman being a cat burglar, the Riddler loving to rhyme and riddles, Penguin being “underground” as a mobster owning the Iceberg Club. I felt that the makeup work on Colin Farrell‘s Penguin was amazing, and wouldn’t be surprised if they got an Oscar nomination for it. The Penguin’s makeup reminded me of Robert De Niro’s portrayal of Al Capone in The Untouchables. Robert Pattinson did well with both roles; I’m guessing this movie is more of a sad orphan, though there are hints of Bruce being a playboy from Alfred. Speaking of Alfred, Andy Serkis did great job, Zoe Kravitz was a strong Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano was terrific as the Riddler, and I felt that this movie handled the conflict between vigilantism being helpful or harmful to Gotham. My only complaint is not the length, but it would explain things five minutes we already saw it, which felt insulting to the audience’s attention and intelligence. Also, I did wince at the Catwoman’s “Do you live in a cave?” line to Batman, that could’ve easily been cut. The subtle nod to Zorro being the inspiration for Batman is way smarter writing. The end does heavily insinuated that

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}the Joker will be involved in the sequels and television spin-offs. I feel sorry for him to have to follow the late, great Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix. Hopefully he’ll be better than Jared Leto’s!

King Richard was OK, but I really want a biopic on Venus and Serena Williams, not their dad. I also found the title character too much of an obstinate micromanager to relate to, despite the success of his two children in a lily-white and sexist sport. I do appreciate a biopic that doesn’t make the main character a saint. Of course, my perception is colored by The Slap^TM and a military dad, so that’s my biases. I absolutely loved Aunjanue Ellis (played their mother, Oracene "Brandy" Price), who deserved her Oscar nomination (although it should have been as lead, not supporting). I also loved the girls (Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams and Demi Singleton as Serena Williams) and really enjoyed Jon Bernthal as Rick Macci (the actor’s a dead ringer for the real Macci, shown in the credits sequence).

[Binky]

The Batman …which, I think it might be the time to stop rebooting Batman for a while, Hollywood. Visually striking, solid actors, reasonable if overly complicated effort in to the story…and a solid meh. It felt like no effort to earn affection or interest, just, it’s Batman, you know all these characters and their archetypes, jump right in. There was a lot going on, a completely unnecessary car chase, an illusion to a mass shooting that just hit as too ugly and reality-based compared to Batman mythology…and no warmth, joy, or wit. I know Marvel gets dinged for constant jokes, but I’d rather irreverence over gloom gloom gloom,

[zwinter]

We also watched The Batman this weekend. It was good, but OMG it was so, sooo long! Who wants a 3-hour movie, really? We had to split it up over two nights.

[laurenj]

Apr 25, 2022 14:38:57 GMT -4 zwinter said:

We also watched The Batman this weekend. It was good, but OMG it was so, sooo long! Who wants a 3-hour movie, really? We had to split it up over two nights.

Wasn't the Dark Knight Rises also obscenely long? I remember falling asleep in the theater and being quite confused when I woke up to a city of ice or some shit. Rarely, if ever, is there a reason to have a 3-hour movie.

King Richard was OK, but I really want a biopic on Venus and Serena Williams, not their dad. I also found the title character too much of an obstinate micromanager to relate to, despite the success of his two children in a lily-white and sexist sport. I do appreciate a biopic that doesn’t make the main character a saint. Of course, my perception is colored by The SlapTM and a military dad, so that’s my biases. I absolutely loved Aunjanue Ellis (played their mother, Oracene "Brandy" Price), who deserved her Oscar nomination (although it should have been as lead, not supporting). I also loved the girls (Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams and Demi Singleton as Serena Williams) and really enjoyed Jon Bernthal as Rick Macci (the actor’s a dead ringer for the real Macci, shown in the credits sequence).

I struggled with this movie as a biopic, if it had been a fictional movie, I'd have enjoyed it more, but I know enough about the Williams sister's history to know that there was a high gloss put over Richard Williams. The girls playing Serena and Venus were phenomenal, but besides the movie glossing over the very problematic parts of Richard, I left it still very much confused by how Serena and Venus happened.

That was the part of their story that I really wanted to know about, like how did Richard's seemingly crazy prophecies of them actually come true? I never fully understood how they managed to get into the places they needed to be to get the training to make it to the top.

And given that neither Venus nor Serena maintained a relationship with him, it seems like something huge must have happened (let alone the fact that he had a whole other family before them that he apparently abandoned), this heroic reconstruction of Richard Williams without any acknowledgement at all of the issues made the movie strange to me.

[cremetangerine82]

I gave the biopic some credit that it mention Richard Williams had failed businesses and his ex-wife and five other children along with his divorce (through Brandy Price and the credits sequence). However, I do agree that the movie is far too kind to Richard Williams, it’s pure luck that his predictions came out to become true.

Speaking of biopics, I just watched The Eyes of Tammy Faye for the second time; I was so tired, I fell asleep through half of it. It felt like is was an average biopic in which the film is anchored by a strong central performance (Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye) and the rest of of the movie is pretty paint-by-numbers. I thought Andrew Garfield was serviceable as Jim Bakker, but he wasn’t the main focus. I agree that Jim Bakker is a scumbag and Tammy Faye did seem like a decent person, even though she did reaped the benefits of her scammer husband. The movie is honest about her flaws:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}the infidelity and addiction to prescription drugs.

I’m a Christian, and I have a deep loathing of televangelists and the prosperity “gospel”, but Tammy Faye was very consistent in her acceptance of the LGBTQ+ communities, unlike the others who are still alive (Pat Robertson, ick!). It’s frustrating that her death from colon cancer was so long and painful; no matter what she did, she didn’t deserve that fate. I completely agree on the Oscar wins for the makeup and Jessica Chastain for Best Actress. Her natural charisma and likability is infectious. I definitely suggest doing a double feature with this movie and the documentary of the same name. Side note: I couldn’t stand Tammy Faye’s mom (played by the brilliant Cherry Jones), she was deeply hypocritical and sanctimonious, although she did have a good point about the Bakkers using Christianity for financial gain.

[famvir]

Dear Evan Hansen.

I’ve followed both the Broadway show and the movie discussions, I’ve followed Ben Platt since Pitch Perfect.

My bottom line is I will never see Ben Platt doing Evan Hansen on Broadway, this movie is as close as it gets.

Dang, he’s 27 and they should have hired a teenager? Not have Barbra Streisand for the movie Funny Girl? or John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys? (Heck, he played a 15 yo Valli at 39)

No, I’m glad I got to see Ben Platt sing Evan Hansen.

Moving on, I’m a wreck. I didn’t know the plot of the show, or the songs. The most gutting was Julianna Moore as Evan’s mom.

I’d bring the tissues and not be distracted by people breaking into song on occasion (have the reviewers never seen a musical?)

[batmom]

We watched Eyes Wide Shut last night. Just WTF?! My conclusion is that Stanley Kubrick hates sex and doesn't really like women. But I had so many questions.

[laurenj]

May 10, 2022 14:15:33 GMT -4 famvir said:

Dear Evan Hansen.

I’ve followed both the Broadway show and the movie discussions, I’ve followed Ben Platt since Pitch Perfect.

My bottom line is I will never see Ben Platt doing Evan Hansen on Broadway, this movie is as close as it gets.

Dang, he’s 27 and they should have hired a teenager? Not have Barbra Streisand for the movie Funny Girl? or John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys? (Heck, he played a 15 yo Valli at 39)

No, I’m glad I got to see Ben Platt sing Evan Hansen.

Moving on, I’m a wreck. I didn’t know the plot of the show, or the songs. The most gutting was Julianna Moore as Evan’s mom.

I’d bring the tissues and not be distracted by people breaking into song on occasion (have the reviewers never seen a musical?)

Yeah, I can't help seeing Benji from Pitch Perfect when I see Ben Platt, so when the success and accolades for Dear Evan Hansen started rolling in, I couldn't help seeing it like Benji showed them all in the end, lol.

The movie was so good and the storyline was more complex than I realized.

The sister was my favorite and the one I related to the most. I had an extremely difficult sibling in childhood and the seeming helplessness of parents or the wanting to think things weren't as bad as they were can really mess with your mind when you saw it clearly and remember it all. That was a storyline I wasn't expecting and it was very affecting.

I've loved Danny Pino since Cold Case, so I pleasantly surprised to see him as the step-dad and that character was really interesting to me too, I hadn't realized he was a step-dad to Connor, that adds another layer to everything.

Julianne Moore's role was pretty small, but she was great, especially later on in the movie. Amy Adams was the only clunky note for me, the saccharine tones she was using in the beginning of the movie were really irritating, but she got better as the movie went on.