What are you watching & why? (splain)

The Amazing Virginian said:
2) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, on Amazon Prime. Why? It's one of my favorite movies of this century, and I hadn't seen it in years, and now it's on Amazon Prime for free. I fell in love with the John Le Carre novel as a teeenager nearly 50 years ago (yes, I'm old). This movie does the book justice. Much as I love Ian Fleming and the Bond books and movies, Le Carre gives him a run for his money with a very different and probably much more realistic type of British spy. The all-star cast is amazing . . . Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong (a personal favorite), Benedict Cummerbund 😜, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Ciaran Hinds . . . This is NOT a movie one can really watch in background mode while cooking, surfing the web, or holding a conversation. It is subtle, and the plot is complicated. So you need to watch it as you would in a theater. Still, it is very highly recommended, and rates another 9 out of 10.
Click to expand...
Agreed - it's very good. Incredible cast and they are all on-point in this, imo. So rare to find a movie these days that focuses on intricate story-telling and does it well, rather than resorting to a lot of gratuitous action propping up story that could have been told in 10 minutes (although I like those sometimes too, when I'm in the mood).

Blues said:
...the cast is an embarrassment of riches...especially Gary Oldman who I believe is, perhaps, the best actor of his generation. He is a chameleon.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that. ^
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
1) Suzume, at the local multiplex. Why? I enjoy good Japanese anime movies, and this one is beyond good. Really outstanding. Funny, poignant, charming, touching, great animation. I saw the version dubbed in English, rather than with English subtitles. I didn't want subtitles distracting from the animation, and besides since they are all animated characters with all voices dubbed anyway, it seems to me just as easy to dub them in English. The story is as if the ancient Greeks created a mythological story to explain the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and created a mythological hero to assure folks that it would never happen again. I give it a 9 out of 10, and I consider it a masterpiece.

Speaking of anime, during the previews they advertised that my all-time favorite anime movie, "Ponyo," will be returning for a limited enagagement in select theaters starting May 7. I took my daughter to see it as a child about 15 yeras ago, and it influenced her in so many ways until this very day. I think it is still her favorite movie. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it.


2) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, on Amazon Prime. Why? It's one of my favorite movies of this century, and I hadn't seen it in years, and now it's on Amazon Prime for free. I fell in love with the John Le Carre novel as a teeenager nearly 50 years ago (yes, I'm old). This movie does the book justice. Much as I love Ian Fleming and the Bond books and movies, Le Carre gives him a run for his money with a very different and probably much more realistic type of British spy. The all-star cast is amazing . . . Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong (a personal favorite), Benedict Cummerbund 😜, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Ciaran Hinds . . . This is NOT a movie one can really watch in background mode while cooking, surfing the web, or holding a conversation. It is subtle, and the plot is complicated. So you need to watch it as you would in a theater. Still, it is very highly recommended, and rates another 9 out of 10.
Click to expand...
I have not seen tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Sounds awesome will watch it some time this week

Thanks for the recommendation!
 
Smithhammer said:
Agreed - it's very good. Incredible cast and they are all on-point in this, imo. So rare to find a movie these days that focuses on intricate story-telling and does it well, rather than resorting to a lot of gratuitous action propping up story that could have been told in 10 minutes (although I like those sometimes too, when I'm in the mood).


Yeah, that. ^
Click to expand...
Yeah, no real action sequences. But what I REALLY liked is the subtlety. They do not overexplain everything so that even the densest person in the audience can't miss it. But it's all there - you just have to pay attention. For example, when they reveal the mole, it's not by some trite "gotcha" confrontation with a lot of explanation and/or back and forth discussion. You find out who it is in a scene with no dialog - just the mole standing in a room with the mole-hunter. And you learn something important about Benedict Cumberbatch's character in a similar way, with almost no dialog. There's a lot of that.
 
Started watching S1 of the 'The Diplomat' last night. It's the best series I've watched in a long time - great cast, and very fast-paced, witty dialogue that manages to switch between funny and serious on a dime. Excellent writing, and Keri Russell nails it. I'd recommend checking it out.
 
Blues said:
Yes! Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy...the cast is an embarrassment of riches...especially Gary Oldman who I believe is, perhaps, the best actor of his generation. He is a chameleon.
Click to expand...

Tried watching it the other day via streaming. Too slow for me. Didn't hold my attention but may give it another chance.
 
Went to the AMC near me to watch "Air" -- the movie about the supposedly true story of Nike signing Michael Jordan.

iu


I'm not a basketball fan. Went to see it and liked it because it's not really about basketball. It's about sports product marketing. ;)

Matt Damon's (lead) and Viola Davis' (supporting) performances were very good, IMO.

Affleck's (supporting), not so much. Tucker & Batemen were ok playing to type
 
Last edited:
sgt1372 said:
Have copies of all of the movies but I got "tired" of the "Fast & Furious" series around #5.

Love'd the vault heist scene but IMO it's been downhill since. 🤷‍♂️

Click to expand...
I remember when it first came out, but I missed most of them until watching a couple of the more recent ones with my son, maybe 7 and 8? I haven't seen the last couple either, I think I've got the idea by now.
 
Just watched "Poolhall Junkies" (2002) on Freevee streaming. Never saw it before.

v83372ct9ta.jpg


It's not "The Hustler" (1961) or even the "Color of Money" (1986) but it's ok and it's got a GREAT supporting cast, including:

Christopher Walken
Chazz Palminteri
Rod Steiger
Ricky Schroder

A walk down memory lane. I just ordered a copy of the DVD from Netflix to add it to my collection. :)
 
Last edited:
Watched "The Exorcist" again for the first time in years. After 50 years . . . it still holds up, IMO. Still my all time favorite horror movie. Maybe because I generally don't care for horror movies. Anyway, if you've never seen it, maybe give it a try.

BTW, Max von Sydow had a helluva career. I would have sworn he was at least 70 years old when he filmed "The Exorcist" , , , but I looked it up and he was only 43!!! If all he ever did was that and "The Seventh Seal," it would have been a nice career.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top