What Movies Have You Seen Lately?

February 15th, 2020 at 5:32:39 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18633
This is the first time I've heard a cover of the newest movie James Bond theme song, before I even heard the original. Here's a guy already covering it.


You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
February 21st, 2020 at 4:28:43 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 154
Posts: 5055
I finally got around to watching The Mission[1986], the last movie involving the same man who wrote the screenplays for Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago , and A Man for All Seasons, though I think these movies had different producers. Nonetheless indisputably great movies in my book. I'm going to say that The Mission will not stand up to the test of time like the others, though worth seeing. 


It certainly prompted me to conduct a search for history that was new to me. In fact, one of the difficulties with the movie is that the history is quite complicated, more than a film can relate accurately. I'll have a problem relating that history too, but here goes: 


The Society of Jesus, the Jesuits,  got very much involved in settling parts of South America; the movie focuses on northeastern Argentina and eastern Paraguay in mid-18th century while it was still somewhat of a frontier. The Jesuit-led Spanish immigration into these areas were quite a contrast in nature to the notorious early Spanish conquests in the Americas; it's easy to speculate in fact that the Church was reacting in horror to the first 200 years of that and was seeing to it that things changed, charging the Jesuits to see to it. In particular the movie brings out that there was to be no more enslavement of the native populations as was the case previously with Spanish conquest. Additionally, of course, the Jesuits wanted to create Christian societies and set up many missions. These evolved into Jesuit-run settlements that were economically egalitarian. Socialists in later days look back on that with favor, citing this as socialist success, and the movie goes along with this as well. The screenwriter, Robert Bolt, was a one-time communist and lifelong socialist. You can find claims that the Jesuits were too authoritative and oppressive to commend what these settlements were like, it's the eternal dispute about what socialism really is like. But I would say mostly the movie features the anti-slavery protection the new way was imposing, something that was appreciated by the Indians in the movie and in historical fact. 


The Portuguese in the area were still looking to enslave the natives for profit, and the movie points out that the Spanish immigrants outside of Church influence were not with the program so much - they would buy slaves from the Portuguese. The dynamic of the movie is that the Jesuits clashed with all this but especially in the area that is now Brazil. Complicating this history is the historical "Suppression of the Jesuits" which was largely European political matter in which the secular rulers of the Catholic world, the royalty, were objecting so strenuously to Jesuit refusal to be ruled  that the Pope was forced to make changes and ordered the Jesuits to stand down [I don't know much about the details]. Further complicating the history,  the Treaty of Madrid was signed which established what areas were to be Portuguese and which Spanish. In South America the Jesuits were thus greatly pulled back generally and in particular told by the Church to abandon their missions in Portuguese territory, exposing the Indians to slavery again. In historical fact, some Jesuits at least did not stand down and armed some Indians who successfully defended themselves initially but later were crushed in the later battle of Caiboaté . This Guaraní War helped lead a few years later to the Treaty of El Pardo, which moved the border again and evidently protected the Indians. Like I say, the history is very complicated. 


I was really struck at how some parts of the movie were complete fantasy. The missions to the Guarani Indians were portrayed as monumentally successful transformations of native people into pious Christians indistinguishable from the most devout Europeans you could have found anywhere, excepting the way they dressed. European music and religious ceremony was completely adopted, and all prior traditions and superstitions abandoned. And there were no unfortunate side effects such as the introduction of disease that we know devastated these populations in truth. The guilt felt by the Cardinal involved in laying down the law to the Jesuits was also quite a theme, enough to say it was a statement against separation of church and state! A very Roman Catholic movie it seemed to me, and in fact it is high on the list of approved movies of the Vatican. I had to look to see if the writer Bolt had converted to Catholicism this was all so striking; but he claimed to be an agnostic. 


The movie has some great scenery with the awesome Iguazu Falls prominent, and the music by Ennio Morricone won awards as well. 


As far as I know a statement at the end of the movie basically supporting the idea of Liberation Theology has been accepted without much controversy. But this and the aspects that were total fantasy keeps me from totally recommending this movie without reservation.
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
March 4th, 2020 at 9:23:34 AM permalink
ams288
Member since: Apr 21, 2016
Threads: 29
Posts: 12422
No Time to Die (the new James Bond movie) release gets pushed back from April 10th to Nov 25th due to the coronavirus.

Tickets were already on sale...
“A straight man will not go for kids.” - AZDuffman
March 4th, 2020 at 9:34:12 AM permalink
Gandler
Member since: Aug 15, 2019
Threads: 27
Posts: 4236
Quote: ams288
No Time to Die (the new James Bond movie) release gets pushed back from April 10th to Nov 25th due to the coronavirus.

Tickets were already on sale...



That is highly disappointing.

Was going to be the best movie of the spring.
March 5th, 2020 at 8:07:20 AM permalink
aceofspades
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 83
Posts: 2019
Quote: ams288
No Time to Die (the new James Bond movie) release gets pushed back from April 10th to Nov 25th due to the coronavirus.

Tickets were already on sale...



Did the coronavirus affect production/post-production or does it have to do with the film-going public in China not really being interested in sitting an a theatre to watch it with 500 other people?

Perhaps this could lead the way to studios finally offering major releases on demand simultaneously with theatrical release - obviously, they would have to figure out the pricing to account for someone ordering it on demand and selling their own tickets to their living room
March 5th, 2020 at 8:40:33 AM permalink
ams288
Member since: Apr 21, 2016
Threads: 29
Posts: 12422
Quote: aceofspades
Did the coronavirus affect production/post-production or does it have to do with the film-going public in China not really being interested in sitting an a theatre to watch it with 500 other people?

Perhaps this could lead the way to studios finally offering major releases on demand simultaneously with theatrical release - obviously, they would have to figure out the pricing to account for someone ordering it on demand and selling their own tickets to their living room


The movie is finished. Only had to do with the studio worrying that they’ll lose lots of ticket sales in Asian markets.
“A straight man will not go for kids.” - AZDuffman
March 6th, 2020 at 2:16:50 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: terapined
Wow
Never heard of Parasite
Now I want to watch this


The movie has an incredible vision. The director is known for radically changing the tone of his movies, since this film starts out as a "comedy of manners" and ends up as something very different.

Is not hindered in any way because of captions.
March 6th, 2020 at 2:26:21 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: odiousgambit
I finally got around to watching The Mission[1986],


Twelve years after the movie was released, Ennio Morricone (Born 10 November 1928) finally consented to allow lyrics to be written for the song "Gabriel's Oboe" in The Mission. It is called "Nella Fantasia" and was originally recorded by Sarah Brightman and is now a popular aria for divas all over the world.


original version



one of hundreds of covers
March 21st, 2020 at 9:07:50 AM permalink
terapined
Member since: Aug 6, 2014
Threads: 73
Posts: 11786
Saw Ford vs Ferrari
It was an entertaining movie
But
Overall I was a bit disappointed
Too much of the wife and kid, should have more Shelby developing the car. I am very familiar with the real story. Should have shown them losing the previous Lemans with dramatic details instead of a few radio highlights. A lot of drama they could of shown.
The documentaries are a lot more interesting as its a fascinating story over many years
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own - Grateful Dead "Eyes of the World"
March 22nd, 2020 at 8:38:10 AM permalink
aceofspades
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 83
Posts: 2019
I rented Once Upon A Time In Hollywood last night
I made it through the first hour but, when nothing actually happened and I became bored, I turned it off
I might try to finish watching it today but, probably not