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Which movie did you watch today and how would you rate it?

Yeah. Texas always looks and feels better in California.

Well, I don't think many people plan vacations to the Stockton area either, lol!

I'll see your  Stockton and raise you five  Lubbock.
Granted! California is always better by default. (Sorry Texas, just messin' with ya!)

My most recent movie watch was "How to Train Your Dragon:Hidden World". I had not seen the other two, and only watched this one because my godson insisted, but I actually liked it; it took some risks with the storytelling that kid's movies wouldn't always take, and I got appropriately sniffly at the end. A bit long, though. Not all of the side characters were worth including, and the villain was dull.

7/10
 
What are your favorite five movies?

I wouldn't even know how to choose. :)

The ones I have rewatched the most times of late are probably... Casablanca, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Empire of the Sun, There Will Be Blood, Whale Rider, Das Lieben der Anderen, Laberinto del Fauno, Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, and Beautiful Thing. But there are an awful lot of good movies out there! And increasingly, TV shows, which I admit I used to mostly ignore. More than I have time to discover these days.
 
I would watch Audrey Hepburn act in pretty much anything. :D

I know what you mean. She's always good. I was thinking more about Gregory Peck...I liked him better in "The Big Country"...

What are your favorite five movies?
My problem with Peck is he appears in movies like a large slab of granite.
That's how they told male leads to act in those days. :D

Speaking of hunks of granite acting across from a flawlessly elegant Audrey, I never thought George Peppard (ie Breakfast at Tiffany's) could emote his way out of a paper bag if the bag itself were on fire.

Of course, now they seem to tell male leads to act like burly and faintly misogynist enfants terribles. So I'm not sure if we're doing too much better all things considered.
 


See the difference?

"Gregory Peck and Wyler, who were good friends, fought constantly on the set and had a falling out for three years, although they later reconciled. Wyler and Charles Bickford also clashed, as they had done thirty years previously on the production of his 1929 film Hell's Heroes. Burl Ives, however, claimed to have enjoyed making the film..." (Wiki)




Actually, not bad...
 
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What are your favorite five movies?

I wouldn't even know how to choose. :)

The ones I have rewatched the most times of late are probably... Casablanca, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Empire of the Sun, There Will Be Blood, Whale Rider, Das Lieben der Anderen, Laberinto del Fauno, Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, and Beautiful Thing. But there are an awful lot of good movies out there! And increasingly, TV shows, which I admit I used to mostly ignore. More than I have time to discover these days.

I've seen them, except for "Hoje...", and "Beautiful thing". I agree that TV is coming up with interesting productions. Recently I watched "Fleabag"

 
What are your favorite five movies?

I wouldn't even know how to choose. :)

The ones I have rewatched the most times of late are probably... Casablanca, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Empire of the Sun, There Will Be Blood, Whale Rider, Das Lieben der Anderen, Laberinto del Fauno, Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, and Beautiful Thing. But there are an awful lot of good movies out there! And increasingly, TV shows, which I admit I used to mostly ignore. More than I have time to discover these days.
I still need to see The Man Who Knew Too Much (the remake... err... Hitchcock's remark of his original make). I've seen the British original where Hitchcock was getting into his groove.
 
Jimmy_Higgins said:
I still need to see The Man Who Knew Too Much (the remake... err... Hitchcock's remark of his original make). I've seen the British original where Hitchcock was getting into his groove.

It's got my other favorite leading lady in it, Doris Day. RIP!
 
Jimmy_Higgins said:
I still need to see The Man Who Knew Too Much (the remake... err... Hitchcock's remark of his original make). I've seen the British original where Hitchcock was getting into his groove.

It's got my other favorite leading lady in it, Doris Day. RIP!

Here you go Jimmy. Better than the British one. And Doris sings "Que sera, sera" :)

 
Spider-Man: Far From Home - 8/10

This is the last film in the MCU phase 3, and the second Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland as the lead. Far From Home continues with the feel of Homecoming by taking Peter Parker to ever darker places, shattering his confidence, only to build him back up again. The events from Infinity War and Endgame play heavily into Peter's self doubt in this movie, and we see him wondering if he can live up to the legacy bequeathed him by Tony Stark. Tom Holland is now solidified as my favorite actor portraying Spider-Man, but Jake Gyllenhaal really knocked it out of the park as Mysterio. If you know anything about Mysterio, you won't be surprised by the "plot twist" midway into the film. That said, it seems a lot of people going to watch this are not aware of Mysterio. If you are one of those people, I won't spoil it for you, just be aware that this is exactly how Mysterio should be portrayed. They also did a great job tying this back to several older films in the MCU, going all the way back to the original Iron Man. In typical MCU fashion, there are two post credit scenes, the last of which sets up the next Spider-Man movie without revealing who the villain(s) will be. Well worth the watch if you are a fan of Spider-Man, or the MCU.

ETA: For fans of the Marvel comics, there is something of a confirmation that the MCU shares the same universe as the mainstream comics universe, Earth-616, though it is still a bit murky as to whether the source of that information is reliable.
 
The Mustang

Another afternoon at the discount theater. Tuesdays are discounted even more! $2.50 admission, and $2.50 each for a small drink and popcorn. All told less than the price of a matinee at the multiplex. Anyway, onto the film.

Equine therapy for hardened criminals. It's a real thing. Prisons across the southwest have programs where inmates learn to break, train, and ride wild mustangs that are captured, with the goal of auctioning them off to ranchers, police, and border patrol with benefits going to help mustangs in the wild. The disposition of these wild horses is a big issue out here.

The movie follows Roman, who has committed a violent act we don't learn about until later in the movie. He's taciturn, has spent most of his 12 years in prison in isolation, and is placed into the program to help him adapt. He's drawn to a horse that is - for lack of a better term - his soul-mate. Anti-social, angry, and unwilling to bend. Though the film is just over 90 minutes, it seems longer, as the relationship between Roman and Marcus (the horse) slowly, haltingly grows. On a few occasions, Roman is visited by his pregnant daughter, and their relationship is even more strained.

Being a prison movie, there's a subplot involving drugs and gang violence that serves a purpose but doesn't really work. There's also no real "name" actors aside from Bruce Dern as the crusty old rodeo cowboy who runs the program, and Connie Britton in a brief role as a counselor. That really helps because it's not a star vehicle. It's an emotional, character driven story. Where it really shines is in the emotions. They're all held back until needed, and when the moments happen - when the horse breaks, when Roman breaks, the poignant ending - they're played very deftly. A lesser film would add sweeping orchestral music to hit you over the head with the message "this is where you're supposed to tear up" but The Mustang doesn't do that.

The only flaw apart from the subplot is that it is a little predictable in the way it unfolds. There's no great surprises. That said, it does a very good job of arriving where you're pretty sure it's going to arrive.

7/10
 
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