Last movie you watched......

I saw Nightcrawler this weekend and thought it was pretty good. It was probably the best performance I've seen from Jake Gyllenhaal, who was legitimately creepy and morally void throughout. I liked the way the movie led the viewer into Lou's morally ambiguous world and thought they did a nice job of making him just charming enough to draw Rick and Renee Russo's character over to his side.

My biggest criticism, I suppose, is that we see him kill someone very early on and again later in the movie, but we never get any insight into why the character became this way. We know he's a mid-30s drifter, with no job, and likely no formal education, but he's obviously quite smart. So I'm a little curious about his "origin story," and how he arrived at the point where we are introduced to him.

 

Down Periscope on the Encore/Starz free preview weekend. Still makes me laugh until I can't breathe every time. In my view among Kelsey Grammar's best work.

Tomorrow Never Dies. Since Daniel Craig's reincarnation of Bond, the earlier films really suffer by comparison. Cheeky and full of bullshit action sequences. Still entertaining though.

 

Very true. I still really enjoy Goldeneye, but that's the only one of the Brosnan flicks that even remotely holds up well. I think I left the theater happy after the first three Brosnan/Bond movies, but the last two really went sour and I probably wouldn't watch any except Goldeneye if I came across them on cable right now.

Quantam of Solace sucked donkey balls, but I blame that on the writer's strike. Casino Royale and Skyfall were both very good.

 

Is Craig done playing Bond? I thought I read that they were casting a black James Bond for the next one.

It would seem crazy to push Craig out (assuming it's not his choice). I thought Casino Royale ranks with the best of the Bond films and Skyfall was also very good.

 

No, Spectre with Daniel Craig is coming out Nov 6.

 

The talk of Idris Elba as Bond flared up recently because producer Mark Wilson said he'd be a great Bond. But Barbara Broccoli (it was a tandem interview) made it clear Craig is still Bond:

"I think he'd make a great Bond," Wilson answered immediately.
"I always say, it's like asking a woman who's going up the aisle on her wedding day who her next husband is going to be," Broccoli added jokingly. "You know, Daniel Craig is Bond, and I don't want to think about what happens when he goes. But I'm a huge fan of Idris -- we all are. He's a great actor, and he could do anything. So ask me when we're looking for a new Bond -- which hopefully won't be for a long time."

 

"Begin Again" with Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley; yes it was wifey's choice and I was somewhat reluctant to watch some sappy movie but damn was it good; it even exposed me to Adam Levine who has the emotion in his voice that I enjoy.

 

Caught a screening of Spy and it's everything you'd expect from a Melissa McCarthy movie: loud, over the top and vulgar. Unfortunately, it's really not that funny. They went for cheap jokes and ridiculous action sequences in which stunt doubles are so obvious and the effects are sophomoric. Maybe they were going for campy spoof awful on purpose. I won't say I didn't laugh during Spy. There are definitely some funny moments, just not enough to counteract the lazy writing.

 

"Broken Flowers." Wonderful performance by Bill Murray and a typically languid directing effort by Jim Jarmusch.
Once you've seen it, read the Wiki entry to get the inside joke at the end.

 

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Still has it. This time I was amused by the whole mall scene. Not sure we'll ever get that back. The abortion scene felt different this time: they almost made it seem TOO cool (nonchalant, even creepy) vis-a-vis Stacy's and Brad's chat at his car.

 

Saw a Charlie Rose interview with Murray, oh, about a year ago, I guess, and Murray indicated he felt that was about the best performance he's ever given. I agree with you, HH, he was awesome.

 

I want to like Jarmusch's work.
There is so much about his aesthetic and his niche that appeals to me.
Yet, almost every time, I watch the movies and I am not entertained.