What movies did you see recently?

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ERinVA
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

Post by ERinVA »

This afternoon I saw "Victoria and Abdul," in which Queen Victoria and her Indian servant Abdul share in a deeply felt mutual admiration for each other despite the disapproval of everyone from members of Victoria's family, through all levels of the government bureaucracy, down to the servants in the Royal Household. Victoria, played for the second time in her career by Judi Dench, is "not amused" by the backbiting and evil tongues, and Abdul, played by Ali Fazal, clearly adores the Queen in this film with a screenplay by none other than Lee Hall, who also served as an executive producer along with other familiar names to BETM folks: Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. Two other familiar names also make an appearance in the film: Trevor Fox as the head chef in the royal kitchen, and Joe Caffrey as the sous chef.

I enjoyed the film, which is billed at the beginning as "based on real events ... mostly." And indeed, it apparently is, according to this interesting article in Vanity Fair magazine:

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/20 ... real-story

The New York Times' review is brief. It is not negative, but the writer was not exactly enthralled either:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/movi ... dench.html
Ellen



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CJ-Rochester
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

Post by CJ-Rochester »

I saw "Victoria and Abdul" tonight and thought it was a delightful movie! At times it seems to move very slow, but is very artfully crafted. Judi Dench gives another tour de force performance.
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angelenroute
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

Post by angelenroute »

Last night, I had the most unfortunate experience of watching a movie called A Bad Moms Christmas. I'm not above such silly movies, so for those who have planned to see it, trust me when I say, I get the interest, and I understand your curiosity. At the same time, though, I hope you'll trust me when I say this movie just sucks way too much to make it worth your time. Jokes which fall flat were left in with painful results many times throughout the movie, and considering some of the stars within, I really do pity them for being a part of such a poorly executed movie. There were a lot of good laughs, I'll admit, but just so, so many dumb, cringe-worthy moments, and not in any fun way.

The blame really must fall on the production crew in this case, and not the actors, because despite the high standards I put on actors, none of them were at all responsible for the mistakes made therein. Instead, the directors, the sound mixer, and most of all the editor should be chastised for not doing their jobs well.

I just looked at the IMDb page to see who they are, and it reaffirms my feelings about the editing. The directors are no slouches (Hangover movies), but the editor is clearly the most at fault here. The film had potential, but he completely ruined it. Oh, well. Anyway, avoid it if you can!

Sean

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

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I saw LBJ, starring Woody Harrelson, who (in my opinion) deserves to be considered for an OSCAR in this role. It is hard to equate this performance with his gormless character on Cheers!.

For those who do not remember the 1960s, or live in another country, the genesis of America's current political issues gestated during the LBJ years, when the Southern Democrats (who harbored ill-feelings that were born after a Civil War a century before) split with LBJ over his Civil Rights Bill of 1964. You will find that movement alive and well, albeit in another party, and supportive of the current administration.

It is a thoughtful and non-political view of the man who, except for Vietnam, can still be considered a great President for his efforts to pass the Civil Rights Bill, and to bring to America Medicare and Medicare. AND he was considered to be a conservative Democrat - until he was handed JFK's mantle, on Nov 22, 1963. That transformation alone is reason enough to see this film. (Bobby Kennedy is portrayed as a petulant whiner.)
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

Post by Todd »

I would echo the positive comments by kport regarding the "LBJ" film. Very good acting all around, and the feel of that era was recreated very authentically, I thought. I also agree with the earlier comments about the film "Victoria and Abdul" - another interesting story about a slice of British history I wasn't aware of.

Another historical re-telling that was less successful, I thought, was "The Battle of the Sexes" about the Bobby Riggs-Billie Jean King tennis match of 1973. The film had the opportunity to be a real hoot, since my memory of the event was more of an over-the-top production that was taken only reasonably seriously. I do think the match did a lot to break down gender stereotypes and ended up giving women's tennis a platform to be given the respect it deserved, which was a good thing. However, it seemed like they were afraid modern audiences wouldn't find it interesting unless they made King's sexuality a fairly major part of the story, which left me feeling like the film makers were using this historical sporting event to push their own particular agenda. To me, the tennis match itself and the way it broke down sex role stereotypes would have been interesting enough to stand on its own. Steve Carrell and Emma Stone both did a very convincing job of portraying the two lead characters.
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

Post by Tyrelli »

I watched Valerian recently. That movie was decent. I wasn't crazy about the cast though, but CGI was stunning and the story is ok.
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

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This weekend I saw what I would probably call my favorite movie so far in 2017: "Wonder." It's about a 5th grader (played by Jacob Tremblay) who has a facial deformity known as Treacher Collins syndrome. The story picks up as the boy - Auggie - is about to go to a regular school for the first time, after having been home-schooled up to that point. His father (Owen Wilson) warns his wife (Julia Roberts) early in the film that it will be a bit like "leading a lamb to slaughter" when she insists that he face the world and go to school with other kids.

The acting by the principle characters - as well as the other kids and supporting adult characters - is uniformly excellent. This is a film that works on many different levels, as it shows things from Auggie's point of view, as well as his parents, his first friend that he makes at school, his older sister, and his sister's friend. It sounds like a lot of plot lines to keep afloat, but the film makes it work. It shows how one person's difficult situation can have a domino effect and can impact many others in the process.

As a teacher, I frequently find many portrayals of school life in movies to be fairly inaccurate. But this film comes about as close as any I've seen at painting a realistic picture of how kids would react to something like this. It's also accurate in how it shows how a good school administration would handle the situation, by having three supposedly responsible students (one turns out to be a bully) show Auggie around school before the start of the school year, to ease him into things. Despite some expected tormenting that Auggie endures, this is a very warm-hearted movie about the power that a loving family can have in a difficult situation. It also shows the impact we can have on someone who might be perceived as "different" - due to something they can't help - by offering friendship, understanding and love.
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

Post by angelenroute »

Last year, my partner and I saw an Off-Broadway play called Prodigal Son, by John Patrick Shanley of Doubt and Moonstruck fame. I went in knowing very little about it, only that its featured stars were Robert Sean Leonard, who I'd recognized from House and Dead Poets Society, and a young actor named Timothée Chalamet, who I knew nothing about.

We sat in the third row from the stage, center seats at the Manhattan Theatre Club, and for the next hour and a half, we were floored by the boundless energy and constant dialogue flowing from young Chalamet's mouth. How did he memorize all of this, I remember thinking, and how is this kid putting on such a powerful performance at his age, barely 20 years old?

My review of Prodigal Son: http://bit.ly/2zM93dI

And so I did what I always do: I looked Timothée up after the show. What else has he done, and what is he planning next, I wanted to know. That's when Call Me by Your Name first arrived on my radar, a faint flicker of light in the sky I knew I needed to investigate. With Timothée starring in the lead role, I immediately went to Amazon and bought the book, written a decade earlier by André Aciman.

I devoured it, and with each new page, I grew more and more curious about the movie. With such beautiful source material, surely it was impossible to ruin it, though I've seen that happen too many times before. Even so, I kept an open mind, and began following all the updates from the movie as it began screening at film festivals around the world. To my delight, theatergoers were praising it left and right, and each one singled out Timothée Chalamet for his incredible work in the film, something that didn't surprise me at all after Prodigal Son.

Needless to say, my expectations for the movie were quite high, and though I had every hope and intention of enjoying it when I finally saw it last night, nothing could have prepared me for just how amazing it was. I mean this quite honestly: I was floored.

The filmmakers, Director Luca Guadagnino leading the effort, made the very best choices in all the most important moments throughout the film. The music, hinted at softly like the relationship itself, comes and goes at first with a tease. The camera angles and staging choices were as surprising as they were perfect. And the acting itself? Effortless.

At no point did I feel like I was watching a movie, but always felt as if I was experiencing it. The birds chirped around me in the theater, the music stole me away through time and space, and the warm Italian countryside quickly made the frigid New York winter a distant memory. I was invited into the lives of the main characters, and generously provided a front-row seat to all their most intimate moments. The hypnotizing music, the lazy summer pace of the storytelling, and the many subtle movements of the camera lulled me into awe.

And Timothée Chalamet? He is nothing short of perfection in this film, and I was so impressed by his equal turns toward quiet stillness and nervous action throughout. Only twenty years old when they filmed the movie, Timothée captures the bridge between adolescence and adulthood better than I've ever seen it done before. You'll get to see him play the guitar and the piano in the film, as well as speak several languages, but at no point does he do so with aplomb. Rather, young Elio is a fragile young man on the cusp of a life-changing summer, and you'll feel it in his every gesture, witness it in every little change across his face.

Call Me by Your Name is, on the surface, a gay romance, but to judge it based on this pithy phrase alone is to demean not just the story but the incredibly talented cast and crew who brought the film to life. Critic after critic have labeled it a masterpiece, and I can see why. It isn't just a movie, but a work of art. It's a play, really, and filled with powerful moments throughout.

Go see it now, and see why it's been nominated for three Golden Globes (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Film of the Year), and why it has already won so many accolades and prizes this awards season. It's still rolling out in theaters nationwide, so if it hasn't arrived to your local movie theater yet, it should very soon. And it will be worth the wait.

-Sean

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
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ERinVA
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Re: What movies did you see recently?

Post by ERinVA »

Thanks for your review, Sean. I am very much looking forward to seeing this film when/If it arrives here.
Ellen



"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983


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Re: What movies did you see recently?

Post by Todd »

I have recently seen two films about historical figures: "Darkest Hour" (Winston Churchill) and "The Greatest Showman" (P.T. Barnum). Despite both of them being about famous people, they were nevertheless two very different films.

"Darkest Hour" is more of a straight-ahead re-telling of Churchill becoming Prime Minister and his decision to continue fighting World War II despite pressure to negotiate a peace settlement with Hitler. With Gary Oldham in the starring role, you felt like you were actually watching Winston Churchill and not just an actor portraying him. He certainly had the looks and mannerisms down to perfection. As for the speaking voice, maybe it was an inferior sound system at the theater where I saw the movie, but I found much of the dialogue difficult to understand. It's probably also not a positive for the film to say that the most interesting scene in the movie for me was the one that was said to be completely fictional (Churchill catching a ride on the London underground and chatting it up with the common folks).

I found "The Greatest Showman" to be much more entertaining. To be fair, it was aiming at more straight entertainment rather than a historical drama, as it was full of singing and dancing and had the feel of a Broadway musical. My only bit of constructive criticism was that the movie was set in the 19th century but had a very contemporary, 21st century soundtrack. The style pf the songs would have probably been more appropriate in one of the "High School Musical" films or an episode of the TV show "Glee." Still, the musical numbers, choreography and cinematography were all first-rate, and the story definitely held my interest.
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