What Movies Have You Seen Lately?

June 8th, 2019 at 10:26:21 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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I finally watched "A Bronx tale" from beginning to end.

If you've already watched any of the several great gangster movies, you see many familiar themes and sequences. This movie is old enough, that I'm sure it's been borrowed from as well.

Definitely worth watching.

It was nice to see Joe Pesci play a non-demented serious acting role and even though his scene was short at the end he did that little bit as well as anyone.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
June 8th, 2019 at 11:22:23 PM permalink
Ayecarumba
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Then you should see the movie, as they incorporate a re-mixed version in the soundtrack. The best part of the movie is the love shown to Boston. It cracked me up.

For those who are not a fan of Godzilla live action, you should watch the three part animated series of films on Netflix. They take the established characters and put a whole different spin on their reason for being. There’s no campiness, just a high concept, sci-fi plot.
June 10th, 2019 at 3:51:43 PM permalink
Wizard
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I saw Rocket Man on Saturday.

First, high praise for Taron Egerton, who plays Elton John. He does his own singing too. I can't think of one negative thing to say about his performance. He even looks a lot like Elton. Actually, he is more handsome than the real Elton.

Second, I am happy to see Bernie Taupin get a lot of emphasis in the movie. I've always thought he was never got enough credit for Elton's success.

That said, I am not a fan of the format of the movie. It's like a musical, but with most of the time spent in dialogue, as opposed to singing and dancing. It plays like a normal movie, except suddenly the characters, even the minor ones, break out in song and dance. There are a lot of very creative, abrupt, and confusing transitions in the movie. For example, at the Dodger's Stadium concert his rocket shoes (like Iron Man has) suddenly turn him into a rocket that takes him to his private jet, where he gets into a fight with Bernie Taupin.

Speaking of that, the movie claims Elton and Bernie never had an argument, but you see them having one in that scene. Maybe some wouldn't consider it an argument, as opposed to Elton just being a selfish pig, but they were certainly at odds in that scene. The movie definitely does not sugar coat a dark period in Elton's life when he was an alcoholic and drug addict, as he treated everyone like crap. In fact, the whole movie is set around memories he shares in a group therapy session. The gist of it is that his whole Elton John persona (an assumed name) was an escape from a troubled childhood.

In short, the movie didn't hit me right. It is nowhere near as good as other biopics like Ray and Walk the Line. Everyone will probably be comparing it to Bohemian Rhapsody. I like Bohemian better, but wasn't in love with that movie either.

On my 0 to 10 scale, I give Rocket Man a 6.

Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
June 10th, 2019 at 6:06:45 PM permalink
terapined
Member since: Aug 6, 2014
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Quote: Wizard

Second, I am happy to see Bernie Taupin get a lot of emphasis in the movie. I've always thought he was never got enough credit for Elton's success.

I was an Elton fan back n the day buying the album Madman across the Water. Great album.
Well aware of Bernie Taupin, the other half of one of the greatest song writing teams ever
Its interesting how some writing teams work in a way that one strictly writes the lyrics and the other writes the music
The Grateful Dead were the same way
Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics and Jerry Garcia would create the music with those words
John Barlow would write lyrics and Bob Weir (rhythm guitar Grateful Dead) would create the music
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own - Grateful Dead "Eyes of the World"
June 10th, 2019 at 7:15:04 PM permalink
Wizard
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Quote: terapined
Its interesting how some writing teams work in a way that one strictly writes the lyrics and the other writes the music
The Grateful Dead were the same way


The movie touched on that a fair bit. Bernie just gave him lyrics in an envelope and Elton put them to music. I hear that Elton never once asked about the meaning of a song. Personally, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is one of my favorite rock songs by ANY artist, but I'm still not quite sure what it's about, but I have my theories. If I ever hang up my Wizard hat, I'll play that song about 100 times. The movie suggests it was a personal message from Bernie to Elton about being kicked around by him and quitting, at least that is my interpretation of how they treated it.
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
June 10th, 2019 at 8:10:16 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Quote: Wizard
The movie touched on that a fair bit. Bernie just gave him lyrics in an envelope and Elton put them to music.
.


He only writes the music? My opinion
of him just went down by half.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
June 11th, 2019 at 12:46:53 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Quote: Wizard
In short, the movie didn't hit me right. It is nowhere near as good as other biopics like Ray and Walk the Line. Everyone will probably be comparing it to Bohemian Rhapsody. I like Bohemian better, but wasn't in love with that movie either.


"Musical biopics" is a genre that gets more critical acclaim than huge box office. Bohemian Rhapsody foreign box office was a unique exception to the rule.


Domestic: $50,314,772 Rocketman (10 days)
Domestic:$100,362,116 Bohemian Rhapsody (10 days)
Domestic:$54,008,042 Walk the Line (10 days) in 2005
Domestic:$39,641,775 Ray (10 days) in 2004

Domestic:$216,428,042+ Foreign:$687,227,217 Bohemian Rhapsody - full run
Domestic:$119,519,402+ Foreign: $66,919,481 Walk the Line - full run
Domestic:$75,331,600+ Foreign: $49,399,934 Ray - full run
June 13th, 2019 at 10:07:14 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Kong, Skull Island. (2017) King Kong gets on Jeopardy and makes record streak squashing other opponents.

This movie was just mediocre. There wasn't really truly awful or truly good. Didn't really care about any of the characters. Kong was a pretty well rendered CGI character. Best thing I can say about this movie is I watched it to the end. But wouldn't watch it again.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
June 13th, 2019 at 12:40:16 PM permalink
ams288
Member since: Apr 21, 2016
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They just released the trailer for Doctor Sleep, the "sequel" to The Shining.



They will advertise this hard as the "sequel," but having read the book it's quite different and doesn't feel like The Shining at all. It's more about what Danny is up to as an adult (hint: working at a hospice and helping dying patients pass on, hence "Doctor Sleep.")

Enter a group of RV dwelling weirdos who travel the country killing kids who have shining powers and sucking their essence to survive (it's a weird book).

Stephen King hates Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining, but it's clear that they're trying to make this look like a direct sequel to it (the Overlook hotel burned down in the book, but as we can see in the trailer, Danny ends up there at some point in this movie).
“A straight man will not go for kids.” - AZDuffman
June 13th, 2019 at 1:23:17 PM permalink
Wizard
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I read Dr. Sleep and liked it. I hope the movie does it justice, but probably won't.
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber