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

[spikepipsqueak]

Spring rains in Summer is doing my head in.

Watched Malcolm (1986) just now. Some comedies don't stand the test of time. This one does.

 

[pood]

Rewatched the original Godfather for the umpteenth time. An epic. It always made me think of The Brothers Karamazov, though the parallels are not very precise. Each work features a patriarch and three sons. Sonny rather parallels the novel’s Dimitri, hot headed and unpredictable. The novel’s Ivan is an intellectual and jaded atheist, with no real parallel to Fredo. But Michael is somewhat a match for Alyosha, who in the novel is untouched by Karamazov corruption but basically never changes, keeping his saintly nature throughout the book. Michael, otoh, evolves from a war hero who was out of the family business and faithful to the woman he intended to marry. Over the course of the movie he evolves into a cold-hearted, stone-faced killer.

The novel explores the theme of faith in God vs. atheism. The movie explores the theme of faith in one’s clan vs. faith in government and courts of law. Gripping and unforgettable stuff. 10/10.

Next up: Godfather 2.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

1. Django Unchained. If haven't seen this by now, see it.

2. Welcome to Pleasantville: I hadn't seen this one since first release. Even though it was more poignant then it still hit the viewer over the head with its social and political messaging. It's still entertaining though. If you really need your liberal itch scratched while watching an enjoyable flick, it's worth revisiting this one.

 

[pood]

Watched Godfather II. As with the original, there are numerous unforgettable scenes. I already knew them in advance so I was just grooving on them. We’ll probably watch Godfather III though I don’t think it was so great. The problem here is that in III, we are asked to believe that Michael, who had evolved into a stone-faced, cold-hearted killer and liar, is suddenly feeling pangs of guilt. It doesn’t seem too plausible to me but it does fit in with a narrative arc. I did like the confession scene very much, but it’s a little late in the game, isn’t it, Michael?

Anyone seen One Battle After Another yet? That is next on the agenda. IIRC it is adapted from Pynchon’s Vineland, which I read many years ago. Spielberg is raving about it but I am not a big Spielberg fan.

 

[pood]

Completely agree about Django Unchained, Lovely movie.

 

[ZiprHead]

1. Django Unchained. If haven't seen this by now, see it.

Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic in it. The scene at the dinner table where he cuts his hand on the broken glass was real. It was unintended and he was actually bleeding quite a lot. But he never missed a beat in the filming of the scene.

 

[laughing dog]

The Outfit 8

Well done gangster yarn with lots of plot twists. Mark Rylance is brilliant as a cutter (not tailor, tailors sew sew on buttons!).

 

[Colonel Sanders]

1. Django Unchained. If haven't seen this by now, see it.

Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic in it. The scene at the dinner table where he cuts his hand on the broken glass was real. It was unintended and he was actually bleeding quite a lot. But he never missed a beat in the filming of the scene.

For some reason his acting is often given short shrift. IMO he's still one of the best actors in the game. I didn't know that about the glass. As a side note, something similar happened in the Hateful 8 when Jennifer Jason Leigh sees the guitar being smashed. Her reaction is real because it was a real 145 year old guitar valued at around $150K and was not supposed to be used for that scene (obviously).

Seems like Tarantino gets up to some shenanigans.

 

[bilby]

1. Django Unchained. If haven't seen this by now, see it.

Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic in it. The scene at the dinner table where he cuts his hand on the broken glass was real. It was unintended and he was actually bleeding quite a lot. But he never missed a beat in the filming of the scene.

For some reason his acting is often given short shrift.

And that reason is that he decided (IMO very wisely) to follow the money and do highly lucrative but slightly vacuous work as a leading man in romances such as Romeo + Juliet and Titanic in the 1990s, which established his fame and fortune, rather than exercising his considerable talents.

IMO he's still one of the best actors in the game.

I agree wholeheartedly. He has an astonishing acting ability, and is one of the most consistently underrated movie actors. In 1995, teenaged girls started screaming and swooning at the very thought of him, which undermined his credibility amongst people who should have known better having seen him two years earlier in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

 

[pood]

He was also outstanding in The Gangs of New York, which unfortunately we cannot seem to get on streaming.

 

[pood]

We also recently watched DiCaprio in Total Eclipse, in which he plays the poet Arthur Rimbaud. He was outstanding, but the movie itself was unimpressive. Except for one brief snippet, none of Rimbaud’s works are quoted, which is weird to me. It would be as if in the movie The Doors none of Morrison or the band’s works are played.

 

[ZiprHead]

1. Django Unchained. If haven't seen this by now, see it.

Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic in it. The scene at the dinner table where he cuts his hand on the broken glass was real. It was unintended and he was actually bleeding quite a lot. But he never missed a beat in the filming of the scene.

For some reason his acting is often given short shrift. IMO he's still one of the best actors in the game. I didn't know that about the glass. As a side note, something similar happened in the Hateful 8 when Jennifer Jason Leigh sees the guitar being smashed. Her reaction is real because it was a real 145 year old guitar valued at around $150K and was not supposed to be used for that scene (obviously).

Seems like Tarantino gets up to some shenanigans.

Yup, I heard about that. A very rare Martin guitar.

 

[ZiprHead]

The Revenant. The Departed.

I haven't seen Killers Of The Flower Moon or One Battle After Another but he is supposedly great in both of them.

 

[WAB]

1. Django Unchained. If haven't seen this by now, see it.

Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic in it. The scene at the dinner table where he cuts his hand on the broken glass was real. It was unintended and he was actually bleeding quite a lot. But he never missed a beat in the filming of the scene.

For some reason his acting is often given short shrift. IMO he's still one of the best actors in the game. I didn't know that about the glass. As a side note, something similar happened in the Hateful 8 when Jennifer Jason Leigh sees the guitar being smashed. Her reaction is real because it was a real 145 year old guitar valued at around $150K and was not supposed to be used for that scene (obviously).

Seems like Tarantino gets up to some shenanigans.

Yup, I heard about that. A very rare Martin guitar.

William Friedkin liked to fire a shotgun unbeknownst to the actors to get a surprised reaction.

 

[bilby]

We also recently watched DiCaprio in Total Eclipse, in which he plays the poet Arthur Rimbaud. He was outstanding, but the movie itself was unimpressive. Except for one brief snippet, none of Rimbaud’s works are quoted...

Not even First Blood?

Or was that John Rimbaud?