Last movie you watched......

Forgot to check back on the thread. So after all that bluster, you found exactly one review that even mentions Trump. This after claiming every positive review you had seen contained a dig at him. Nobody fails as completely and consistently as you, cis.

 

Late to the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 party but it was still about 80% full last night; that was some good fun. And being a child of the 70's, LOVE the soundtrack.

 

Watched "Kong: Skull Island" this weekend and fairly enjoyed it. Visually, it was masterfully done. The special effects were great and I remarked to my wife at one point that many of the shots were simply art.

By keeping the film set on Skull Island, and not bringing Kong back to New York, it stayed really focused and it zipped right along in under two hours.

I had two issues with the film, though. The film really missed the love connection between Kong and the woman (in this case, Brie Larson as Mason Weaver). They connected to a certain extent, but only in that Kong is the protector of the island and he recognized that she was not a threat, rather she was someone who also protects the weak. There was a respect between them, but not the love that Kong has had in previous films. Peter Jackson's version was entirely too long (among other problems), but he nailed the connection between the ape and Ann Darrow.

Also, the score was really lacking. Setting the film in Vietnam, they relied on all the usual songs of the period that are in basically every Vietnam-era movie ever made. There were some scenes that were just crying out for a score as memorable as "Jurassic Park," and it just wasn't there.

Overall, though, I'd give it a solid B.

 

Finally saw 'Trainspotting 2" last night. It was fine, workmanlike, with the same kind of funky cinematopgraphy and over-reliance on music. Can't see the soundtrack growing on me nearly as much as the first one. At base, the whole sequel seemed unnecessary. Twenty years on and the guys are dealing with predictable things. Just nothing particularly moving about it. Or funny. Or tragic. There's just not enough at stake here. I don't regret watching it, but I can't imagine stopping to watch it again.

 

'The Nice Guys' = enjoyable, much better than I anticipated, and Gosling is surprisingly funny.

 

Gosling is a guy who also has tremendous range as an actor.

 

We took our son to the theater for the first time on Saturday, in part because it was 100 degrees. He'd been wanting to see Cars 3, but we were worried since he doesn't handle noisy environments or crowds. But he did great.
As for the movie, I thought it was well done. I really liked how they teamed up with Ray Evernham and incorporated some history with Smokey Yunick, Junior Johnson, moonshining and shuttered old tracks.

 

Check It, the documentary about a gay black street gang in D.C.

Louis C.K. introduced it on his website. Pretty powerful stuff. Costs just $5 at www.louisck.net.

Here's a preview. I'm uploading it to my drive and will post a link here later.

 

It's still processing but here's the link to Check It. Give yourself 90 minutes.

Check_It_HD_1.mp4

 

Saw "Lion" on Friday night and couldn't agree more. That little kid was so damn good. He and the boy from "Room" are two kids who have recently blown me away. Dev was great as well.

The movie was beautifully shot, from the opening aerial images to Saroo on the empty bridge after escaping the men in the train station, just all around wonderfully done.

Someone else mentioned how they'd forgotten that Kidman could act and they were right. She was very good in this.

Much like "Room," this is a film that will stay with me for awhile. Incredible that it's a true story.

 

Cannot say it any nicer, but weathered "20th Century Women" last night for my better half's benefit. (Should have watched Paterson instead.) Previews made it seem like a comedy with serious themes. Instead, got what IMHO was a stilted, slower movie with only a couple of good comedic points. Further, one of the points was teaching a 15 yr old boy in 1979 the feminist viewpoint to make him a better man. I was 16 in '79 and let me say I'm glad I did not have to endure that type of teaching at that age. (In full disclosure, in many ways I was raised primarily by two very strong willed women, my mom and older sister, so I'm very respectful of women.)

 

Saw Baby Driver. The first half - which I assume was meant to be charming, about this charming kid who drives getaway cars - felt flat for me. Usually I assume it's because time has rendered me dead inside but this time I'm pretty sure it wasn't that charming.

The second half, when it reverts to being simply a showcase of violence, heartened me greatly.