Recommend a movie

[The Laughing Fish]

I watched Falling Down for the first time last night.

Very good film, one of Joel Schumacher's best. In my opinion, Michael Douglas put in one of his best performances here. He really sold the tension as a disillusioned, psychotic man trying to visit his daughter for her birthday. As an old-fashioned man who looked like he belonged in Norman Rockwell's America, you can feel his outrage and disgust as he walks through the urban decay in modern day Los Angeles and how each incident contributes to his madness, in addition to his failed marriage. Robert DuVall was quite good as the retiring cop who finds the courage back in getting off his desk duty to investigate the case, but Douglas is without a doubt the MVP here.

Schumacher gets a lot of sh*t thrown at him, but on his best day, he definitely can direct something of true quality. I really doubt this movie could ever get made today though.

[thecolorsblend]

I watched Falling Down for the first time last night.

Very good film, one of Joel Schumacher's best. In my opinion, Michael Douglas put in one of his best performances here. He really sold the tension as a disillusioned, psychotic man trying to visit his daughter for her birthday. As an old-fashioned man who looked like he belonged in Norman Rockwell's America, you can feel his outrage and disgust as he walks through the urban decay in modern day Los Angeles and how each incident contributes to his madness, in addition to his failed marriage. Robert DuVall was quite good as the retiring cop who finds the courage back in getting off his desk duty to investigate the case, but Douglas is without a doubt the MVP here.

Schumacher gets a lot of sh*t thrown at him, but on his best day, he definitely can direct something of true quality. I really doubt this movie could ever get made today though.

I would compare Falling Down to Fight Club from standpoint that Schumacher and Fincher both had a certain intent with those stories. But certain key elements of the audience took a rather different message from the films than was likely intended.

In the case of Falling Down, I think Schumacher and the screenwriters* were essentially looking down their noses at D-FENS. But that's not the only way to interpret the story. I have seen some rather visceral interpretations of the film and those are a bit Too Hot For TV to get into here. Suffice it to say, I see D-FENS as a confused, disillusioned man who tried earnestly to make sense of a world that had basically abandoned him and so one day he just snapped and decided to force the world to make sense, knowing that his efforts were ultimately futile.

I have no doubt that Falling Down could get made today. Some narrative elements would be played up more heavily in 2020's FD than the original FD. But the same movie, more or less, could easily get made today.

* Yes, I do think Schumacher was creatively sneering at the likes of D-FENS. That is a criticism of Schumacher. It doesn't diminish my appreciation of various of his films. But in the case of FD, I simply think there's no denying that Schumacher has absolutely zero compassion or affection for D-FENS.

[thecolorsblend]

Thirteen Days is one of those criminally underrated films that come around sometimes and somehow get lost in the shuffle. Idk why the YouTube trailer says "2001" because the movie came out in December 2000.

Originally, I assumed that 2000 was just a weak year for film. In my defense, this is the year of Dungeons & Dragons. In what I can only now categorize as some truly epic historical irony, D&D came out the same day as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. History only looks back fondly at one of those movies with "Dragon" in the title. Battlefield: Earth is not exactly a highpoint of 2000 either.

But seriously, look at some of the other movies from 2000: Traffic, American Psycho, Almost Famous, Erin Brockovich, Mission: Impossible 2, Gladiator, Dinosaur, Virgin Suicides, The Perfect Storm, X-Men, High Fidelity, Cast Away and probably others I'm forgetting about. I guess I can see why Thirteen Days might've gotten overlooked.

Anyway. Thirteen Days. Those thirteen days. Strange to think how close the USA and the USSR came to blowing the entire world up. The movie ends on a positive note that tends to undercut the propaganda of the American and Soviet news media of the sixties. Specifically, that the US isn't always the hero cowboy in the white hat and the Soviets weren't always the villain in the black hat. Good men and bad men existed in both countries. And it was good men on both sides who prevented a cataclysmic war. Dumb luck was an unindicted co-conspirator in saving the world too.

The movie mostly consists of guys in suits in rooms talking to each other. That either works for you or it doesn't. But I welcome the movie's deliberate pace and relative lack of unnecessary thrills and frills.

Highly recommended!

[thecolorsblend]

One more. Snow Falling On Cedars. This movie came, it saw... it tanked at the box office. To be fair tho, a lot of stuff was going on in 1999 when this movie came out.

It's funny. You hear a lot about "the director's original vision" and other trash talk. But the fact is, for a lot of movies out there, there's usually only two or three money shots where "the director's vision" actually matters. For everything else, it could be released in craptacular Betamax for all the difference it would make.

But Snow Falling On Cedars is GORGEOUS, where virtually every shot is a money shot. Amazingly beautiful camera work. The story either works for you or it doesn't. But even if it doesn't, I'd still recommend checking this thing out because of how beautiful the compositions are. This is like film school in 127 minutes. Gorgeous cinematography and a great cast. It's worth checking.

[The Dark Knight]

I may have more to say about American Psycho as a whole (novel and film) at some point later, particularly about ambiguities. But I'll focus on this scene because I love music montages, and this is one of the best.

"You might think I'm crazy, but I don't even care...."

That's my favorite part. The music peaks along with Bateman's axe swinging as the lyrics comment on his true personality, which is physically expressed.

Bale's expression from 1.44-1.45, how he opens his mouth in cathartic release of pent up energy, is incredible in its realism. And then, satisfied the job is done, he reaches a level of zen. The body on the floor while he smokes the cigar is perfect. As if this scene is commonplace, akin to sitting on the lounge and watching TV.

The upbeat Hip To Be Square playing in the background, juxtaposed with his brooding persona, makes this scene top tier. What I also love is that without that music playing in the background this house is completely silent and lifeless. Just Bateman getting to be himself, alone with his trophy.

[thecolorsblend]

A lot of you are European. So I imagine you probably aren't terribly familiar with how school is done over here in the States. Bear with me while I make a point.

Our history classes are like most, I suppose. We have to prioritize our own history ahead of others. That becomes a problem because our history lessons stop covering Europe once the lessons reach around 1700 or so. America's colonial period, iow. From there, European history is gradually phased out and replaced with American history. It's unfortunate but necessary.

Now yes, our history classes in school do make brief stopovers again in Europe. The World Wars, the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, etc. But mostly, stuff between 1700'ish to 1939 or so largely gets skipped.

One consequence of this is that most Americans don't know very much about twentieth century Europe in general, Ireland, Michael Collins, the civil war, their Troubles and all that. Basically, if Dolores O'Riordan didn't write a song about it, our knowledge might be a bit sketchy.

Which is why Michael Collins is so fascinating to me. It's history that I never knew that I never knew.

Aside from that, it's a damn good movie. Obviously, Liam Neeson has a personal investment in the character and he gives it his all here. Which, for him, is saying quite a lot. The whole cast is good and this is worth another look for those who have seen it before.

Idk if I've ever said so around here before but I've been trying like hell for the past year or so to avoid superhero films. At one point, I was doing a deep dive through Martin Scorsese's filmography.

Michael Collins is also good counter-programming for all this superhero stuff. Definitely worth checking out.

[Silver Nemesis]

The Bounty (1984) is one of the most underrated films ever made and a picture I would strongly recommend to everyone on this site. Don't let the mixed critical reception put you off – it's the most historically accurate screen version of the Bounty story and a damn good film to boot. After first seeing it a few years ago, I developed a fascination with the subject matter that prompted me to read several books and articles on the topic, including An Account of the Mutiny of HMS Bounty by Lieutenant William Bligh. The film takes some dramatic license in depicting Bligh's obsession with rounding Cape Horn, but other than that it sticks closer to real events than the earlier film versions. Some of the dialogue, such as Fletcher Christian's "I am in hell" line, are taken directly from firsthand accounts.

The script was written by Robert Bolt, who also wrote Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and A Man for All Season (1966). Bolt's scripts often focus on a central moral dilemma where the protagonist must stand up for what they believe to be right against a majority who disagree with them. The Bounty is a good example of this. It challenges the viewer to ask what they would do if they were in the same situation: would you go in the lifeboat with Bligh or stay on the ship with Christian and the other mutineers?

Unlike earlier screen versions of the story, which tended to portray Bligh with broadly villainous strokes, this one instead presents him more accurately as a flawed but honourable man. He was obviously a great seaman, as demonstrated by the way he navigated the lifeboat containing him and his loyal crewmen to safety. But he was also clearly an imperfect leader. The fact he was subjected to a coup d'état during the Rum Rebellion of 1808 is further proof of this. But he wasn't the evil tyrant some versions of the story depict him as. At the same time though, Fletcher Christian is portrayed sympathetically, and the viewer can understand his desire to remain in the tropical Tahitian paradise with his beloved wife. There is no clear hero or villain dynamic here, and I find such stories often make for the most compelling.

David Lean was originally meant to direct, but it was ultimately helmed by Roger Donaldon, who also directed the movie Thirteen Days (2000) mentioned earlier in this thread. The impressive cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson, Laurence Olivier, Daniel-Day Lewis, Bernard Hill, Edward Fox, Liam Neeson, Neil Morrissey and Dexter Fletcher. The score by Vangelis is moody, melancholic and beautiful. It's up there with his soundtracks for Chariots of Fire (1981) and Blade Runner (1982).

;

Give it a watch if you haven't already.

[The Laughing Fish]

Has anyone else seen The Founder yet, aka the McDonald's biography? Michael Keaton was excellent as Ray Kroc, shows him as a salesman who is initially down on his luck, until he shows what a ruthless businessman he is and has no hesitation in screwing over people to make the most iconic fast-food brand ever.

I finally watched The Way Back recently, starring Ben Affleck. It is apparently regarded as one of the best films of 2020, and I can't disagree. A very good drama about a depressed alcoholic who reluctantly takes up coaching basketball for a Catholic school, and slowly but painfully works his way to find peace in his troubled life. In a way, you can't help but remind yourself of Affleck's real life troubles in the last few years and how the art imitates his life as he pulls himself together, and it does make it for heart-warming viewing. Perhaps it's not so surprising since this film was directed by Gavin O'Connor, who directed the excellent Warrior. It seems O'Connor knows how to make dramas that had a level of struggle and emotion you could relate to, without being overly sentimental.

[thecolorsblend]

I'll check out The Founder tonight. Sounds interesting.

[thecolorsblend]

Has anyone else seen The Founder yet, aka the McDonald's biography? Michael Keaton was excellent as Ray Kroc, shows him as a salesman who is initially down on his luck, until he shows what a ruthless businessman he is and has no hesitation in screwing over people to make the most iconic fast-food brand ever.

Watched the movie last night. He is shown to be pretty ruthless after a certain point. But honestly, I was more upset by his stealing the franchisee's wife. I mean, a bad business deal is a bad business deal. Kroc tried getting out of it fairly numerous times before he went nuclear on the McDonald brothers. You do what you gotta do. But stealing some other guy's wife, I can't look past that. Good movie about a not very good guy.