Agree that Fargo is a slog. Some good characters (the nurse for example) and very good production values but the plot isn’t engaging. At all.
Printable View
Agree that Fargo is a slog. Some good characters (the nurse for example) and very good production values but the plot isn’t engaging. At all.
Great actors, beautifully shot and great story until a bit of a cliched ending. The actor portraying the protagonist’s childhood was superb and I was initially sad when the story aged her out. But turned out not to be a problem because, as Jason said, Anna Taylor Joy is indeed a joy to watch and perfect for the part. Very enjoyable and entertaining series.
Speaking of Ted Lasso - will 2020 leave nothing beautiful unspared?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/enter...nt/6289011002/
I watched a pretty good (but not great) mash up of The Monuments Men and A Few Good Men called The Last Vermeer, starring Guy Pearce. I can't tell you to go out to a theater to watch it, because that is just too dangerous for my taste, but if they ever put it on demand or streaming it is worth checking out.
https://flixchat.blogspot.com/2020/1...iews-last.html
Attachment 11907Quote:
In the aftermath of World War II, Captain Joseph Piller (Claes Bang) is assigned to look for Nazi collaborators in the Netherlands. His investigation into a painting purchased by Hermann Goring (Hitler’s right-hand man) leads him to Han van Meergeren (Guy Pearce). van Meergeren is a failed artist, but a very successful art dealer. Everyone suspects that van Meergeren stole works of art from Jews and made a fortune by selling them to the Nazis, but Piller refuses to jump to conclusions and when he starts to follow the evidence, he discovers something truly shocking.
This film should probably be called A Few Good Monuments Men as it seamlessly transitions from a Holocaust drama to a courtroom mystery.
Quite simply, the best acted film of the year so far... Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Wow!! Chadwick Boseman goes out with far and away his most powerful performance (and the dude had several strong ones under his belt prior to this). It is basically a play turned into a movie, not a lot of action, but I adored it. It is in theaters this week and will be on Netflix next month. Don't miss it!
Here is my 100-word review: https://flixchat.blogspot.com/2020/1...a-raineys.html
Attachment 11939
I concur with prior comments on The Queens Gambit. Truly binge worthy and I was not the least but disappointed when the protagonist aged out but I’m a sucker for a cute ginger girl.
I’ve been mining some older HBO series lately while waiting on something new to pop up and I really enjoyed Mildred Pierce. Kate Winslet and the actress who played her adult daughter were both outstanding. I always enjoy period pieces. There are some unexpected plot turns in this one too.
I also enjoyed Olive Kitteridge but there’s very little action or intrigue in this one. Just a life study of a grim and flawed character.
I’m about 3 episodes in on Absentia and I’m engaged so far and curious how the past and present will be tied together.
I might have to watch Hillbilly Elegy, which doesn't make me happy.
It is award season, so the studios are busy sending critics like me (I vote for awards as part of both the Atlanta Film Critics and Southeastern Film Critics associations) screeners for the films they are releasing. It has been slim picking so far because the studios are most assuredly holding back big titles that could have boxoffice potential due to Covid. More on that in a moment...
Anyway, I got a couple award contenders that I wrote about this week, so I figured I would post a couple quick reviews...
Here is my 100-word-review of Dear Santa, a feel-good documentary from the director of the brilliant Pick of the Litter (if you love dogs and have not seen Pick... SEE IT NOW!!): http://flixchat.blogspot.com/2020/12...ear-santa.html
And here is my 100-word-review of Another Round, a Danish language film starring the brilliant Mads Mikkelsen that is likely to be a contender for best Foreign Language Film (and there is talk Mads could get a Best Actor nod): http://flixchat.blogspot.com/2020/12...s-another.htmlQuote:
From acclaimed documentary director Dana Nachman (Pick of the Litter) comes the story of what the post office does with all those “Dear Santa” letters every year. The ones that Santa and his elves cannot answer get put aside so regular folks can “adopt” the letter and fulfill someone’s Christmas wish.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QRCAA8sZd...-mikkelsen.jpgQuote:
“Another Round” stars Mads Mikkelsen (Dr. Strange, Rogue One, Casino Royale) as a schoolteacher suffering through a midlife crisis. He and three teacher friends decide to test the notion that having a little bit of alcohol all the time, even while teaching, will make them more relaxed and engaging. When, “a little bit” works like a charm, they decide to test what more and more alcohol will do to their lives.
So, here is the "more on that..."
In case you did not hear, Warner has announced that every single film on their 2021 calendar will be released in theaters... and on HBOMax AT THE SAME TIME. This is a massive shot across the bow at the theatrical viewing experience. On a day when the rest of the stock market was up, Cinemark Theaters fell 22% and AMC theaters shed 16% of tis value. IMAX dropped 8% because none of us have IMAX projectors or screens in our homes.
The key for Warner/HBO/AT&T is how much does this drive subscriber growth at HBOMax and does that subscriber growth make up for what will probably be hundreds of millions in lost theatrical revenue. Let me tell you, it sure feels like this makes HBOMax a MUST HAVE among the streaming services. Among the titles that will be released on HBOMax in the next year are:
Wonder Woman 1984, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, In the Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, and Matrix 4.
So, if you pay $14.99/month for HBOMax, you and your entire family/friends/whoever can see several films that you would ordinarily pay $12-$15/seat to see in a theater.
Of course, the question is... do you want to see Matrix 4 or Godzilla vs. Kong on your 44 inch TV with the dog barking to go out and the phone ringing versus seeing it on a 50-foot theater screen with no distractions? Do you want to listen to In The Heights or The Suicide Squad on your TV speakers or do you want it in Dolby Surround Sound from speakers with subwoofers the size of a car?
Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the industry reacts to this. Disney is an obvious player here with Disney+ and a massive library of important titles (they are already releasing the new Pixar film, Soul, on Disney+ and forgoing theaters).
If I had to bet right now... I would bet on a healthy percentage of middle-upper class America paying for Netflix, HBOMax, and Disney+ going forward... I think Hulu's subscription model could be in real trouble. CBS' streaming channel is probably toast (despite having a bunch of Star Trek content). I have no idea how this will impact Amazon Prime Video as I suspect a lot of Prime customers have that service for something other than video content and I'm not sure Amazon cares all that much if it loses tens of millions on streaming at this point.
If you like Anna Taylor Joy and like period pieces you should consider The Witch. I would imagine this would be one of her earlier star roles.
Warning - it's not for everyone. It's extremely disturbing to the core of your bone in places, and it crosses lines in a couple places that probably should not be crossed. But those seek to be disturbing and underscore evil. It's sort of like a coming of age piece, but it's definitely a type of horror movie. With the accents you'll have to watch it in a quiet room, pay close attention, and I watched it twice to understand all that was said.
It's one of those movies where you'll either say it was one of the worst movies you've ever seen or one of the best. I thought it was one of the best - a story well told, well-acted, and blows you away if you get into it.
Taylor-Joy's performance is stunning and this film was expertly made and directed. The language used is completely authentic for the period.
I will also add that if you haven't watched Christmas Vacation yet this holiday season you need to watch it!
Cousin Eddie is LOL funny on brilliant levels of comedy and holiday spirit.
I've seen it too many times, but this one never gets old
I'm totally enjoying the Animaniacs reboot. My only complaint is the format, which seems to be the Animaniacs in a long short, than Pinky & The Brain in a segment, then the Animaniacs once again in a short sketch. In the original run, instead of P&TB every episode, they'd have others come in, like The Goodfeathers or Slappy Squirrel. None of those ancillary folks have shown up. (They did bring in a smorgasbord of big name Warner Brother characters for one sketch protesting that cartoons can't vote.)
Anyway, the reboot is great, and of course has been brought up to date with new social topics to skewer with their brand of comedy. (Just like past presidents made it on the original, Trump has been on, as a huge orange cyclops that was totally hilarious.) And, just as with the original, there are more than many jokes that will fly right over a kid's head, bordering on totally inappropriate. Ha!