Saw "Holy Spider" today, a film about an Iranian female journalist, who hunts a serial killer of sex workers in Mashhad. Good film, but pretty bleak.
For what it's worth, Truman Capote's novella is very good, but Capote doesn't gloss over or try to disguise what Holly Golightly does to survive. Hollywood watered the story down due to what was permissible on screen in America at the time (and to entice Hepburn to accept the offer to play the role). The character played by Mickey Rooney is so slight in the book, that he appears for about a page or two, if I remember correctly, and isn't a caricature (or, frankly, much of a character).
Saw "Till" today. I thought it was good, though conventional in style. Still, the topic and the performance of the actors made it moving and worth seeing.
Vickie and I just saw The Wandering Earth 2, a prequel to the 2019 Chinese movie about the entire planet being fitted with giant rockets to move to another solar system. Okay, it's incredibly silly, but it was really enjoyable. It out-Bruckheimer's Jerry Bruckheimer. We were incredibly pleased to see a trailer for a February re-release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, possibly motivated by all the attention Michelle Yeoh has been getting for her work in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Our second film of the day was living, with Bill Nighy. We weren't aware of this fact until it appeared on the screen, but it's an English language version of Akira Kurosawa's Ikuru. Bill Nighy has been nominated for the best actor Oscar for this film, where he plays a government bureaucrat, who discovers he has cancer. A beautiful film and very moving. The thing that really jumped out at me, is the filmmakers managed to perfectly capture the look of a mid 1950s British film, even down to the part where the dissolve was an obvious laboratory process shot.
I forgot to mention, checking IMDb, the film was shot digitally with an Arri Alexa Mini - and perfectly captured the look of a classic 1950s British film.
Thank you for that. I saw it Friday and was struck by the color timing and (in some establishing shots) the kind of flat yet colorful look of British films from that time. I assumed it was done digitally but wondered. Amazing how influential Kurosawa has been on western film makers.
There was one shot that would have been difficult with chemical photography - where he wanders off out of the tent with the stripper, and into the darkness. It would have been awash in film grain. Vickie and I have a good collection of Kurasawa, and really need to see a Ikuru again. Her favorite of his films is Dursu Uzala.
Missing (2023) - The first time I had been to a theater since 2019. It wasn't my pick for a film, neither was the movie good, but I'm glad I went. Takeaways? It was one of those fancy iPic digs, with the gourmet food, copious drugs at the bar, La-Z-Boy type seating, etc. It was high-end. I don't know if the image was really dialed in, though, because I've gotten so used to my 77" C1 pro calibrated OLED. The blacks weren't true black on the big screen; moreover, compared to my OLED, for even SDR, the theater screen seemed a little washed out: slightly dull. I need to go see another film to draw any real comparison; still, it was good to be back in a theater. I had a good time, even though the film sucked.
If you get a chance, see something at an AMC Dolby Cinema or Prime if they have one available. I enjoyed Missing although not as much as it's predecessor Searching. The funny part is is both films are really optimized for a home screen, happening entirely on the main character's phone or computer screen.
Living I liked it, but did not think the synopsis accurately described the film. It was slow and quiet, much like the character of its lead actor. I can’t recall seeing Bill Nighy before, so I can’t comment on whether he deserves Best Actor or not. I guess I would describe this film as quietly devastating. Worth seeing.
His most popular film role was as a burned out rock star in recovery in Love Actually - his role in the Harry Potter series was far too small to really count. I've seen him in a dozen movies, but he works far too steadily to have seen everything.
Looking through his film credits, the only other one I think I’ve seen is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I remember liking that film, but can’t specifically recall Bill Nighy.
Yes! I want to see a film in a top-flight theater! All of the bells and whistles, not just how you can feed your face, or what's the choice in vodka. Hell, for all I know, the theater could have spent more on their lavatory than their projection system. It was like a goddamn Greek bathhouse in there!
I've been using AMC's Nicole Kidman promotional bit as my evaluation material, and I've seen it in pretty much every AMC auditorium at the four theater complexes we regularly visit. The best black levels are actually in the AMC Prime Theater, which uses a single projector with a laser light source. The next best is the Dolby Digital, which uses dual projectors and a third best is IMAX, which is often disappointing as IMAX doesn't enforce their technical standards anywhere near as well as Dolby does.
You have to appreciate Mickey Rooney for the kind of actor that he was. All of Mickey Rooney's acting is cringeworthy! It has never been anything but. Nobody on the planet, then or now, ever came away thinking Mickey was Chinese. He was doing his usual acting. Meaning his character was a caricature. This was typical of movie comedy of earlier cinema.
I saw Missing today and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I have not seen Searching. I agree that Missing would have been equally enjoyable on a home screen, but at this point, a movie theater saves me from distractions at home, if nothing else. This was a very compelling film, and the technology the main character used, and how she used it, was amazing. Although I have to say that I would not want to live that kind of life, where everything is happening a screen.
Vickie and I aren't being allowed to see a movie in the theater tomorrow evening. AMC is closing all of their theaters before 6:00 p.m. tomorrow night because of some football game. What the hell happened to "counter programming"? I just checked, and Cinemark is doing the same thing! "In every other country they just move the ball. But in America, for some reason, they have to stop every 30 seconds to have a committee meeting."
I never watch the game itself, only the halftime show, but unlike last year's which I was excited to see and definitely didn't disappoint, this year's I could care less about so I definitely won't be watching.
Wow, I had no idea! I am a huge NFL fan, but I know plenty of people who have no interest at all and would probably welcome something to do while everyone else watches the game. That’s crazy! Edit: @Chris DeVoe , I just checked, and both chains are open this evening in my area. It must be just Kansas City, because the Chiefs are playing. Possibly Philadelphia as well.
Yup - AMC has regular showings through 10PM here in the DC area. It's Chris's location. KC is gonna be a ghost town circa 5PM their town. And I checked: same in Philly and that area as you speculated.
Oddly, AMC for a while had a thing with the NFL where you could see games on the giant screen. I have no idea how successful that was or wasn't.
Saw Knock At The Cabin last Tuesday at Showcase on discount Tuesday ($7) for their Dolby D-Plus theater. Liked the movie and there was just 3 of us in there. These afternoon movies around here are very relaxing.
