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I’ve seen two movies that I’d previously never seen since we last convened for MOVIE MONDAY.
Tomorrow on the Cigars & Cinema Podcast we’re discussing Out of Sight - https://www.youtube.com/@ogtcigars-oakglentobacconi8932/streams
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Fifth Dimension - I think I wanted to like this movie more than I did, because it does have kind of an earnest energy to it and a quirky premise. However, despite its attempts to make Buckaroo and his entourage seem super-cool and like the ultimate heroes, I never quite bought it. It’s just too thin, and as much as I like Peter Weller, his performance never feels charismatic enough for me to buy what they’re selling. But, the movie does wholeheartedly embrace its nature as a parody and isn’t afraid of being absolutely silly, which provides some amusing ideas and I did chuckle throughout the film. Empty calories, but kinda tasty.
Libeled Lady - This is a screwball comedy from 1936 starring Myrna Loy, William Powell, Spencer Tracy, and Jean Harlow. It’s about a newspaper man whose newspaper prints a libelous story about a wealthy socialite, so they hire a libel expert to try and manufacture a situation with the socialite that will clear the newspaper. 30’s/40’s screwball comedies has to be one of my favorite genres and this one delivers. The dialog is well-written and everything moves along at a brisk pace, and the movie is full of so many double-crosses and changes of fortune that it’ll make your head spin. Good fun.
And, the usual MOVIE MONDAY thing:
1. Name a movie. Any movie. If I've seen it, I'll briefly tell you what I think about it. I'm sure you're dying to know.
2. If you want, we can then dig deeper into our agreement/disagreement about said movie.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 126 replies.
I'll keep most of these quick:
First Watches:
The Sting - This is simply a delightful caper film, perfectly written, edited, and performed. No notes. From the first frame to the last was breezy, charismatic perfection.
Ben Hur - I ended up really liking this, and I've definitely been underestimating ol' Cheston as an actor. Also, holy shit nothing is even 90%-assed in this movie. It's whole-assed all the way. It was also interesting having a movie that was all Deus, no Machina; God is just a natural part of the world from the very first scene. And God is given enough "presence" to say that They have stakes in the story, so when Jesus Christ makes a cameo or there are LITERAL divine interventions you're just like "yeah okay, I see it." It cleverly short-circuits every coincidence the film throws. The last half hour or so does get heavy handed in proselytizing the audience as it leaves Judah's revenge tale behind (and that's BEFORE it does the Stations of the Cross), but I appreciated its sincerity--it's more "there's something wonderful out there" and not "your ways are bad". And the chariot race is, of course, cinema history. Holy CRAP that was brutal. I read that ZERO horses were injured, and the stuntmen only had a few minor bruises, which seemed beyond Fury Road-level set safety. Amazing!
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story: This was ALMOST exactly what I'd expect a Weird Al bio to be. I felt it could've done with less child abuse though--that felt off the mark for Al's brand, and it goes uncomfortably far with it. Still, it got quite a few stupid chuckles out of me. Shame he didn't survive to see how influential he'd become.
Revisiting:
True Lies - This film's effects have aged about as well as its politics haven't. It's still QUITE funny, and if you interpret its thesis as "the rules in James Bond films are stupid", then the mockery just never stops. But it inherited a lot of early-Bond sexism to make that point. Granted, a big part of the point is moving on from that, but I sat cringing at almost every conversation that the two Arnolds had.
Gold Rush - My cat's health showed itself to be in decline, so I needed a film that is impossible not to smile at. Gold Rush is that. It's still a perfect, PERFECT comedy for all audiences and all ages.
Captain America: Civil War & Thor: Ragnarok - Coming to the climax of my super-abridged, all-thriller-no-filler trip through the MCU's Infinity Saga. Both of these are still a great time, with weird visuals and cool moments and clever quips. Quintessential Marvel, and for good or bad I think we've all landed on what we individually think of that.
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