Saving your box office, one f-bomb at a time. And some other movies too.
Welcome to another discussion piece here at Moviegoing with Bill, where fellow moviegoers are greatly encouraged to comment and engage with one another. A mini-forum and a virtual soapbox. Enjoy!
No, not M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller Trap - I’ll be catching that on a discount day.
By “trap,” I mean that, for this kernel, I’ve snuck in a few mini-reviews of/general thoughts on recently watched movies. I’ll have a question - as always - for y’all to comment on at the end, tied into these blurbs:
D&W v. Patriarch - Deadpool & Wolverine was not my dad’s favorite film of the year, suffice to say—an overload of references, plays like a musical that tries way too hard, etc. On my end, I found this old-guard X-Men sendoff/latest MCU entry to be uber-playful and dynamically golden. Ryan Reynolds and High Jackman give each other career highlights, both comedic and dramatic. They’re both great, individually and collectively, performing for everyone from the front row to the back of the theater. Vain? It’s kinda hard to avoid that when you’re also a producer, but there’s humility to be found - or at least the appearance of it. Director Shawn Levy calls this “populist cinema,” and I’m not sure what he means or what that phrase entails. Expect an essay on this sometime soon. The film is doing exceptionally well at the overall box office, but is it worthy of what Spielberg said to Tom Cruise regarding “saving” the industry? Deadpool would be “soaking wet” if told that.
Warren Beatty’s rough cut - I rented Rules Don’t Apply, and I don’t regret it - even if the first hour made me want to at times. Half of this Howard Hughes dreamscape fantasy fiction is a fast-edited and beguiling story of young women heading to Hollywood to audition for the next Hughes motion picture. Frustrating incredibly, but well acted in fits of charm from Lily Collins. Around the halfway point, once she sings the titular song, the pace takes a deep breath, and the movie really begins. What the hell happened to that first hour? Not even Wolverine can cut things up at that reckless speed. Still, eat a CBD edible before watching and press play. The high should wear off once the cutting gets good.
Invisible Nation, Seen - Out of the blue, the documentary Invisible Nation has come along to bring attention to the plight of Taiwan and their struggle for true independence from China, and to do so with quite an amount of personal access to Taiwan’s first female leader, President Tsai Ing-wen. While the film does present the history of the One China policy as one that’s very aggressive, and showcases the staggering silence from the international community to recognize Taiwan at all (the World Health Organization comes off as jerks), it’s also bogged down a little by being a bit too sterile. Too clean, if you will. It’s more than a Wikipedia page of course, way more, and the effort to even get to speak to the leaders of another country must’ve been a very difficult task. As a piece of advocacy, Invisible Nation is incredible. As a film it’s ok, and for sure should be viewed. Coffee is suggested though. Maybe two cups.
And so…do YOU prefer the overwhelming flexes of popcorn entertainment to slowed-down cinema? And HOW MUCH does technique influence your enjoyment of a movie?
Please feel free to comment at any length, share or forward this thread to friends and family, and consider becoming a supporting moviegoer if you haven’t already (get 50% off for a full year, good until 8/17) - more subscriber exclusives are on the way!
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The Morning Kernel, 8/12/2024: Quick Thoughts on Recent Flicks
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Saving your box office, one f-bomb at a time. And some other movies too.
Welcome to another discussion piece here at Moviegoing with Bill, where fellow moviegoers are greatly encouraged to comment and engage with one another. A mini-forum and a virtual soapbox. Enjoy!
Dear Moviegoers,
It’s a Trap!
No, not M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller Trap - I’ll be catching that on a discount day.
By “trap,” I mean that, for this kernel, I’ve snuck in a few mini-reviews of/general thoughts on recently watched movies. I’ll have a question - as always - for y’all to comment on at the end, tied into these blurbs:
D&W v. Patriarch - Deadpool & Wolverine was not my dad’s favorite film of the year, suffice to say—an overload of references, plays like a musical that tries way too hard, etc. On my end, I found this old-guard X-Men sendoff/latest MCU entry to be uber-playful and dynamically golden. Ryan Reynolds and High Jackman give each other career highlights, both comedic and dramatic. They’re both great, individually and collectively, performing for everyone from the front row to the back of the theater. Vain? It’s kinda hard to avoid that when you’re also a producer, but there’s humility to be found - or at least the appearance of it. Director Shawn Levy calls this “populist cinema,” and I’m not sure what he means or what that phrase entails. Expect an essay on this sometime soon. The film is doing exceptionally well at the overall box office, but is it worthy of what Spielberg said to Tom Cruise regarding “saving” the industry? Deadpool would be “soaking wet” if told that.
Warren Beatty’s rough cut - I rented Rules Don’t Apply, and I don’t regret it - even if the first hour made me want to at times. Half of this Howard Hughes dreamscape fantasy fiction is a fast-edited and beguiling story of young women heading to Hollywood to audition for the next Hughes motion picture. Frustrating incredibly, but well acted in fits of charm from Lily Collins. Around the halfway point, once she sings the titular song, the pace takes a deep breath, and the movie really begins. What the hell happened to that first hour? Not even Wolverine can cut things up at that reckless speed. Still, eat a CBD edible before watching and press play. The high should wear off once the cutting gets good.
Invisible Nation, Seen - Out of the blue, the documentary Invisible Nation has come along to bring attention to the plight of Taiwan and their struggle for true independence from China, and to do so with quite an amount of personal access to Taiwan’s first female leader, President Tsai Ing-wen. While the film does present the history of the One China policy as one that’s very aggressive, and showcases the staggering silence from the international community to recognize Taiwan at all (the World Health Organization comes off as jerks), it’s also bogged down a little by being a bit too sterile. Too clean, if you will. It’s more than a Wikipedia page of course, way more, and the effort to even get to speak to the leaders of another country must’ve been a very difficult task. As a piece of advocacy, Invisible Nation is incredible. As a film it’s ok, and for sure should be viewed. Coffee is suggested though. Maybe two cups.
And so…do YOU prefer the overwhelming flexes of popcorn entertainment to slowed-down cinema? And HOW MUCH does technique influence your enjoyment of a movie?
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Please feel free to comment at any length, share or forward this thread to friends and family, and consider becoming a supporting moviegoer if you haven’t already (get 50% off for a full year, good until 8/17) - more subscriber exclusives are on the way!
Get 50% off for 1 year
Sincerely Yours in Moviegoing,
⚜️🍿