Frayed Knot

Holy Shit!!

There's a new book out on the making of CHINATOWN which, according to the review I read, claims that the writer, Robert Towne, originally had a happy (or at least happier ending but that Polanski, not surprisingly a much darker personality given the number of deaths within his own family, insisted on the darker alternate conclusion we all now know: "The girl dies, that's it!" Towne, still alive at 85, was pissed off enough over it to never work with Polanski after that although reportedly much later admitted that, with hindsight, the Polanski-dictated ending was better. But other than that, both flicks had the noir feel, private eyes in a mid-20th century urban setting, powerful insiders getting away with whatever they want while swatting minorities out of the way, and of course questionable parentage involving a main character.

More than a bit of CHINATOWN in it, eh?

Trump prefers stories from North Korea.

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=31400 time=1581361151 user_id=68] So then why haven't past foreign movies competed in the main best movie category, for the most part? New trend?

My top-ten involves nine: JOJO RABBIT ONCE UPON A TIME … IN HOLLYWOOD 1917 ROCKETMAN AD ASTRA YESTERDAY FORD VS FERRARI -------------- BLINDED BY THE LIGHT COLD PURSUIT I even saw the majority of them in an actual theatre (Astra, Blinded, and Cold Pursuit were via DVD) and would recommend all but the final two. COLD PURSUIT, which I watched last week on a whim on a night when I really, really felt like doing nothing at all, is a really, really bad movie. Has Liam Neeson made a non-revenge flick in, like, the last ten years?

I watching this movie thinking that it's a nice story just not well executed ... and then I remember that it's a nice "story" because it's a true story (or 'based on' at least) at which it becomes just not a good movie. Less 'Yesterday', it's more like a poorly done 'Bend it Like Beckham' rip-off. Other than that, pretty much what Edgy said; just too many things that didn't ring true. - In the street scene where folks spontaneously break into Bruce song it's unclear whether this was merely stuff happening inside the kid's head or if the movie was about to become musical theatre - the kid's schoolmates, who think he must only be listening to 'Asian' music while they're all deep into their 1987 new wave sounds & clothes, seem to have either barely heard of Springsteen and/or dismiss him as some relic from their parents' generation - the only real plot 'twist' is where the stern-looking neighbor, whose constant expression seems to epitomize the town's disapproval of having to live amongst a growing number of "Packys", turns out instead to be the local anti-xenophobe who then for good measure encourages the kid to continue working on his art after stumbling upon some of his writing (when some blew out of the garbage and onto the neighbor's lawn of course) oe: the fact that the kid grew up in the 'Bury Park' section of his town makes the book title of GREETING FROM BURY PARK very clever. So of course the movie decides that that need to be changed to ... something with essentially no meaning. Don't think that particular song was even used in the soundtrack.

I hope the book was better than the movie.

Not being a Catholic I'm not always up on the history of the church ... but I would have thought there were way more than just two popes.

I saw it a while back so the memory is a hazy shade this winter, but I remember not liking it all that much. I think my main beef was also me not quite buying the story - meaning either it wasn't a very good novel or some things got lost in translation. I mean, it wasn't terrible but ultimately not all that satisfying IIRC.

I feel this movie/driving topic deserves its own thread (as does Kurosawa if that project ever actually gets off the ground). The racing movie sub-topic now also includes the more recent: - RUSH (2013): two polar opposite 'Formula One' drivers vying for the same prize start off as antagonists wind up with at least grudging respect for each other. Ron Howard directs, Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl in the leads. - FORD vs FERRARI (2019): maverick driver-turned-designer (Matt Damon) hires maverick driver (Christian Bale) as they butt heads with corporate culture after Ford decides to spruce up their image by taking on Ferrari in European road racing.

Charlie and Eli Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix & John C. Reilly) are enforcers/hit men for a monied tyrant on the west coast during the gold rush era. They get a job to go fetch somebody. Not everything goes as planned.

That was my impression as well.

The same Italian-American who played an Irishman in GOODFELLOWS

Hmmmm, somebody gave this a 5*/'Masterpiece' rating, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't any of the three people who responded to this thread. Interesting. Anyway, I came looking for this thread because this movie is taking another lap around theaters near me, this time in a 'New Re-Cut' version. And while it was mentioned above that this was a typically long QT movie (2:41) particularly for what is essentially a comedy, I noticed that this new version clocks in Five Minutes Longer. Oh good, just what it needed.

What's his non porn name?

****, I'm not going to be in Flowood until January!

Edgy MD wrote: [David] Crosby is the most interesting, because he admits he was an asshole ... There's a separate documentary just on Crosby and apparently he doesn't come off any better in that one. I've known for a while that he and Graham Nash were no longer on speaking terms but apparently Nash was one of the last to jump on that wagon. Now, not only is everyone who once talked to Crosby no longer talking to him but it sounds as if there are people who have never met David Crosby who have gone ahead and preemptively announced that they're no longer on speaking terms with him either. I once heard DC quoted as saying he was 'put on this earth to sing harmonies'. That very well may be accurate and I don't mean to downplay his contributions to several important groups of collaborating musicians, but that doesn't automatically make you both Lennon & McCartney. One example I heard was that he's bitter about somehow being the only one of CSN(and sometimes Y) not to have had a Top-40 hit, as if that was all someone else's fault. Dude, maybe it was your songwriting.

Saw it a while back, probably shortly after its initial release. Probably more notable for JK Simmons' Oscar performance -- and he was a badass -- than as a great film. Kind of liked the concept of the war of wills between student and teacher but, yeah, the execution of it was at times a bit tough to buy. And the backstory of the dummer's personal life and how no one around him could fathom his drive and level of devotion to his craft was, IIRC, just sort of eh.

Ummm, could use a few walks.

In what scene does Ringo appear?

I'm surprised that none of the Tarantino-ites here have gotten around to talking about this one yet. Set in LA, or, more specifically, in Hollywood (duh!) in 1969, the story, such as it is, follows the antics of a semi-talented actor (Leo Dicaprio) and his stuntman/gofer (Brad Pitt). So it turns out that the fictional Rick Dalton (Dicaprio) lives next door to the very real Roman Polanski and wife Sharon Tate in the Laurel Canyon section of SoCal (the title does contain the phrase 'Once Upon a Time') and so events in the lives of these two (DiCaprio/Pitt) are leading up to an intersection with a certain August night in 1969. My main complaint about Tarantino films in the past is that they've been too long and that that extra time is often filled with gratuitous violence, seemingly for the sake of itself. This one is also long (2:41) although it didn't feel long. And, yes, there's cartoonish violence towards the end, although it's not as over the top as usual, and, considering the actual events of that summer, the stylized violence doesn't depict what you think it might depict which, had he gone there, would have been in really poor taste, even for QT. I guess the main complaint would be that it's a film of nothing more than Tarantino wallowing in Hollywood nostalgia of his youth. But, y'know, even if that is the case, it's kind of a fun ride through QT wallowing in Hollywood nostalgia of his youth. Leo DiCapio Brad Pitt Margot Robbie Emil Hirsch Bruce Dern Al Pacino

Sounds like I liked it a bit more than you. I kind of liked the way the story played out for the most part, including the parts with the two characters who showed up halfway through and I was OK with the scene in question towards the end. Not saying it's a great movie by any means. It's typical rom-com sappy in parts and the Sheeran & McKinnon parts are a bit broadly drawn. But mostly well done all around. An article in the NY Times about a week ago gave the story of what the producers had to go through in order to secure rights to the music. In this case, is not just the bling you have to cough up but you need enough known names attached to it, like a director of Danny Boyle's status for instance, to where the holders of Beatle rights -- one group for John/Paul songs and a different one for George's -- deem your project sufficiently worthy of their blessing rather than risk tarnishing the band's image. They're trying to avoid another Sgt Pepper fiasco iow.

So you probably already know the plot of this one via trailers and ads. Through a brief (and never explained) 12 second planet-wide glitch, Beatle music and indeed the history of the Beatles has been erased from human memory. The memory/existence of a few other things is gone too, a few of them kind of funny. But our film's hero, Jack, a marginal and somewhat awkward English singer/songwriter, is seemingly alone in that he does remember their music and so is in a unique position to claim those songs as his own. Or at least he would be if he could only remember all the lyrics seeing as how all those albums are now missing from his record collection and a Google search turns up only crawly insects. The truth is too unbelievable for him to tell anyone and that includes his childhood friend/manager Ellie played by the terminably cute Lily James (BABY DRIVER) which is a shame since Jack's monopoly on the Beatle catalog is matched only by his cluelessness to Ellie's crush on him. So hi-jinx ensues with more than a few bumps along the road. Ed Sheeran stretches out his acting chops to play Ed Sheeran, the guy who helps discover Jack only to quickly feel himself being surpassed by him. Former SNL'er Kate McKinnon is a stereotype of a soulless music industry exec who of course wants to wring all the coin out of Jack that she can while she can. Essentially it's a reasonably funny Rom-Com. There's a scene towards the end which you'll either find totally charming or a bridge too far depending on your POV. And, y'know, it has Beatle music, as well as an unexpected cameo by CitiField!

So I did get around to seeing this one recently - and it's not bad as bio-pics go. Like 41F said, it's a different kind of bio-pic with fantasy-type versions of his songs, some sung/acted by two different child actors playing different aged young Eltons (actually young Reggies) -- with no attempt, even by adult EJ actor Taron Egerton, to create a literal impression of Elton. Kudos for that in my book. Both kids are actually quite good in what couldn't have been easy roles and the movie, as written anyway, doesn't work if they don't pull off those roles. All that aside, while there's no specific climax to build to, it is kind of a conventional bio in that it traces his route to fame from his roots, to his discovery, his pairing with Taupin, the success, then the crash and burn years, before ultimately to his redemption followed by the seemingly standard updates at the end of how everyone is now living happily ever after. =whippoorwill post_id=12478 time=1560120054 user_id=79] I want to see you in Cher's wardrobe