jazztalk.net

Yesterday we watched "Crossroads." The flick itself is pretty stupid, but the blues by Ry Cooder and Sonny Terry is the real deal

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes--

Mostly terrific--a tad long, heaps of human interest so to speak but never boring. In fact most of the time I was pretty fascinated. If you liked the first one, this is quite different but imo the absolutely perfect way to bring the story forward.

Philomena--a near perfect movie with Damned Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. Light when it needs to be light; heavy in other parts.

Different experience than Doug with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I was fine with about a third, but then it lost me. I took a half day off of work, and better things awaited, so I ditched the film about 3/4 through. I just didn't buy it. I didn't make it through the previous one either, but expected more from this.

"I didn't make it through the previous one either, but expected more from this."


I'm not sure why, if you didn't make it through the first one. I loved the first one, and this is a great next step in the new series, but only for those who like the franchise.

Last night we watched Cirque du Soleil's World's Apart, kind of a fantasy ballet that integrates new sets and stunts with lots of bits recreated from their Elvis, Mystere, O, Ka, Zumanity and LOVE shows. I find this film absolutely stunning visually, and the music, camerawork and editing are all superb--can't figure out how it escaped the Academy's notice at award time.

Saw Transcenders, the Johnny Depp sci fi thriller. Pretty good start but it kind of lost me. Enjoyable enough but not great.

Jazzooo wrote:I'm not sure why, if you didn't make it through the first one.

I know. Duh! I felt like taking some time off of work and devouring a medium popcorn, but there wasn't anything else I thought I'd like better. A critic I like gave it 3.5 stars, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I do need to wait until after a big movie like this has been out longer, though. There were still too many people in the theater for me. There was a guy behind me who groaned when they showed Bloomberg and Obama on the screen and laughed out loud (he was the only one) when someone in the film called someone out on "hippy-dippy bullshit". I mean really, people. Can't we set aside our dopey partisan politics for 2 hours to watch a movie about freaking apes that talk?

Tonight, hopefully, I'll get around to watching Under the Skin, with Scarlett Johansson. She's not generally one of my favorite actors, but I hear she's really good in this.

Finally saw Wolf of Wall Street. I went into it with tempered expectations from scanning critical reviews. Once again I learn it pays to ignore them. I thought it was a very amusing take on both hucksterism and hedonism. I believe that most people are alienated from that world to the point that watching a bunch of assholes fuck and fleece people with abandon is a major turnoff. But I found the vibe of the film just right, and welcomed Scorcese's avoiding any typical cliched rise/fall story. Not among his finest films of course, but probably the best Leo in decades. Also, and this is rare for long films, I enjoyed the second half much more than the first...basically from the FBI meeting on the yacht, to the end, was terrific.

I'm a fan of the original Sin City, so I went to see the Sin City: A Dame to Kill For on Friday afternoon.

Well, it looks the same. It's got the same basic cadence and grit (and violence). It just doesn't work as well. The stories just aren't as interesting.

Oh well. Still a couple of hours well spent. Nearly empty theater. Giant popcorn washed down with a giant (size small) Pepsi. An overall success.

Cantinflas, however I watched it in Spanish with no subtitles so while I definitely followed the plot, I probably only got about 75% of the dialogue. The actor was pretty remarkable imo, having only seen a few original films by this Latin American superstar. My Mexican girlfriend, Denise, said he looked quite a bit like him. It wasn't a deep telling of a life's story, but probably the most interesting parts of his life were how he became and what he made as an actor, and that was beautifully done.

One weak spot was Michel Imperioli as Mike Dodd--very amateurish hair job for the role, plus I have a hard time not seeing Christopher...

seems like either no one is going to the movies anymore or no one wants to talk about the ones they've seen...

Gone Girl. This David Fincher flick has lots of problems, including an ending that left my girlfriend and I pretty confused and even a little pissed, but I still liked it for the most part. The problems include the actress who plays Ben Affleck's missing wife--she just wasn't very good. Trent Reznor turns in another Social Network-type ambient score that is unoffensive for the most part and super effective in one or two spots.

Dracula, the Untold Story or whatever it is called up there in the states. You know, for a re-invention of a classic, it could have been a lot worse. In fact, I thought it was fun and at the very end I found myself looking forward, mildly, to a sequel. Now after the reinvented Frankenstein, I wonder if they will try to pull off a New Frankenstein meets New Dracula. Meets whoever comprises the new Abbott and Costello.

I know it's TV (well, it's not tv, it's HBO) but we're about to wrap up season 2 of The Newsroom. Loved the first season and the second season has had excellent moments too, although the latter suffers a bit from Aaron Sorkin's passionate but convoluted non-linear storytelling.

We watched the old flick "Laura" last night. The flick doesn't really hold together, but the song was one of the best.

Interstellar, by Christopher Nolan. For me, a total home run--a smart sci fi epic, truly broad scope entertainment. Beautiful in so many ways, not the least being visual. And black belt acting by a very good cast. Wonderful, evocative and exciting music by Hans Zimmer, who I can often take or leave...not this time. This film is certain to sweep the Oscars, but don't let that put you off.

Check out the improvised drum score in the kooky BIRDMAN. Good picture, in my estimation.

It's not here yet, Monte, but I loved the bits of it in the trailer. Did you see Interstellar yet?

Nope. Don't know if I'll see it before it goes to cable. I usually pass on the "smart" space epics, having been burned in the 70s by a misguided elementary school teacher who told me that if I liked STAR WARS, I would love CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. Au contraire.

My goodness, get past that one, Monte. This is not a 'catch it on cable' movie. That would be like listening to Kind of Blue on a transistor radio. You'll get a fraction of the intended experience. And this movie might be smart, but it isn't smarter than you.

Has anybody seen that hunk of dung Whiplash?

C'mon already, I know that jazz musicians take their craft very seriously but this was laughably over-the-top with the drummer frequently drumming until he's horribly bleeding and doesn't even let a serious car crash keep him from missing an (obviously) very important competition gig.

The instructor/band leader is undoubtedly patterned after Buddy Rich but this guy would make even Buddy look like Mother Teresa. He seriously rivals that guy from No Country For Old Men for psychopathic orneriness.

The music's good and it keeps you engaged but I shouldn't be laughing out loud.

Your review sounds more intriguing than you probably meant, drum!

BIRDMAN. Holy crap, no chatter about this great, strange, brave movie with a score consisting of mostly Antonio Sanchez or Brian Blade at the drums? Or Michael Keaton in the role of a lifetime? Loved it.

Absolutely, Jazzooo. Obviously flying under the radar, Birdman is one of those truly special films that comes around only once in a great while. Acting, story, photography, music....it has it all. Don't miss it.

I just saw "The Humbling" with Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig, directed by Barry Levinson.

Because I'm a member of SAG-AFTRA, I got to see Al Pacino and Barry Levinson talk afterwards!

This is truly an excellent movie with a similar theme to Birdman. An aging actor tries to get his mojo back, but in a different way from the Michael Keaton character in Birdman. You're not quite sure if he's losing his mind, too.

Pacino is excellent. And he's so down-to-earth and funny in person. Although he was probably annoyed at the paparazzi who hounded him after the event.

For the first time in years, we watched Midnight Cowboy. This is a great,groundbreaking flick with two of the best performances ever on film. Plus, the soundtrack is a killer.

What the hell is happening to the Movies thread? Are you all shut ins, unable to leave the house to catch a great film like Birdman?

Been watching a lot of series on Netflix.
No recent releases, but I do sneak in the odd classic film from the Clint box, plus some choice Criterion things of late; Late Ozu box, Scorsese World Cinema box, Cassavetes box, Nashville, Battle of Algiers...

Hi, Cem.

We just saw the 50th anniversary theatrical release of A Hard Day's Night. Is this playing up there yet? Beautifully remastered or whatever they do to old film. What a TRIP to watch it on the big screen, after having seen it for decades on the small screen. Denise, who was born in Mexico the year it was released, was delighted--she said it's like a documentary only really cute. I know the movie practically by heart, but the personalities come through so much better on the big screen--loved it, every minute.

The only caveat is that the audio remastering (or remixing in some cases), done by Giles Martin and his father who did such a splendid job on Cirque du Soleil's "Love" show, sounded like the vocals got pushed too high and became harsh in spots. This really could have been the fault of the theater where I saw it, though.

If you're a fan, worth checking it out in the theater.