Beth Hart - Fire On The Floor CD Review
Beth Hart February 23rd, 2017 Boston, MA Concert Review
"I can't complain. I got to be Jim Morrison for the first half of my life, and Ward Cleaver for the second half." - Warren Zevon.
For Halloween yesterday, and I watched Talk To Me, and Five Nights and Mandy for today.
"I love mankind...it's people I can't stand!!"
- Charles Schultz.
AFTER THE WEDDING (2019), directed by Bart Freundlich, starring Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore and Billy Crudup.
I saw this listed on Kanopy and decided to watch it, knowing nothing about it other than it had Michelle Williams in it. Afterwards, I found out it's based on a 2006 Danish movie that was up for awards when it came out--I guess now I'll have to look for that movie.
Maybe not a big movie, but I find Williams so interesting to watch. Her character doesn't say much, so you have to study her face to see what is going on inside her. The movie never gives all the answers, so you're left to keep wondering about her.
Knock at the Cabin
It was pretty okay for a Shymalan movie. He did better, he did worse.
But Dave Bautista proved once more he is the best wrestler turned actor at the market right now.
SLY
Netflix
Documentary
Grade: B
Sly.jpg
I enjoyed this for what it was. I did learn a few new things. My expectations skew my grade somewhat. I wanted more total Filmography of Stallone in this film. This largely plays out as a veiled docu-series on how Stallones' personal life is reflected in Rocky. In hindsight the poster is saying that(man behind THE hero[singular]), on the front end I just took it as them using his iconic 1st character to showcase this piece. By that token it is dominated by Rocky, which, I get IS a big part of Stallone's career. A smaller chunk is devoted then to Rambo in the second act. Then a smaller portion in the third act on Expendables.
Some, some of his other films get slight mentions at best, others just a few screen grabs with transition dialogue spoken over those moments. Examples being Cobra, Over the Top, Cliffhanger and Demolition Man to name a few. Outside of Rocky Balboa and Rambo4&5 none of his films post-2000 other than Expendables is even mentioned. Given a large chunk of 90s fare was omitted I shouldn't have been surprised since by the third act the shape of the narrative had been established "Sly is Rocky".
I can kind of see why no mention of Samaritan(at Amazon Prime) and Tulsa King(Paramount+) were made as Netflix doesn't want to free advertise projects for them. Still, I wanted a more in depth look and discussion on as many of his projects as was possible. Copland did get some time on that front at least. His surprise cameo in Spy Kids, bit parts in GotG and voice work(King Shark) what led to those decisions?
I do need to track down Lords of Flatbush and Paradise Alley. The former I've said for years I would but just got distracted. The latter I don't think till this I'd even really heard of with any details. Maybe read over it in a list at best.
"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" - Optimus Prime
Mysterious Island (1961). A bunch of people wind up on a deserted island and discover the Nautilus and Captain Nemo are there as well. Based on the Jules Verne sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the movie is a pretty faithful adaptation to the book with a great score by Bernard Herrman and outstanding Ray Harryhausen visuals. There wasn't a whole lot to the plot, however, which honestly also mirrors the book.
Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988). Ten years after the Great Tomato War of the first film, a plot to raise a new tomato army is discovered and foiled. Proof that a big budget does not a better movie make. In its defense, very little in the way of the humor of the first movie was recycled so they definitely were being original here. Its just that the threat of the new tomato army feels small, even non-existent at times. In this movie, you never really catch the vibe and kind of end up waiting for it to end. Oh well.
Every day is a gift, not a given right.
3 Women( 1977 ) Directed by Robert Altman. Starring Shelly Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule. Duvall is an outgoing yet lonely woman who takes in shy Spacek as roommate and Rule is the mysterious artist who haunts their apt complex and the bar they hang out at. Not much on plot, it's really a character piece and as the film progresses it takes on an almost dream like quality.
I enjoyed it. Duvall really stands out as the fragile Millie and it's fascinating to watch her personality play off Spacek's Pinky. I'm not sure why, but this film doesn't seem to get talked about as much as his 70's films even though it came out probably during the height of his popularity.
Spiderboy2: Return of the Spider-Friends ( 2023 ) I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed this movie. I went into it thinking, I'll watch part of it, do some chores and maybe come back to it another day. I watched the whole thing in one sitting. Great art design, great direction, great voice acting and engrossing script.
I was surprised that they got away with the joke...spoilers:end of spoilers
You left your sweater at my place...and your toothbrush
The Outlaw Johnny Black- Was expecting an action-comedy and got more of a dramedy. Not saying I was disappointed but was expecting something different.
The Killer (2023)
It's a decent thriller with a muted style.
It has good performances but can be slow.
watched Subspecies 5 on Tubi last night. Not bad for a prequel/sequel to the first Subspecies movie.
ELEMENTAL (2023)
dir. Peter Sohn
This was… such a fascinating film to dissect. On the one hand I feel it had many faults. They didn’t explore the world enough, or get into the minutiae of how Earth and Air fit into the social structure of the city. The actual plot is threadbare, a lot was silly and not believable (in the sense of character beats, choices and assumptions that felt unearned… I’m not talking about the literal believably of fantastical elements… ba-doom-CHA). Also the city Councillors JUST LEFT A FLOOD-ABLE HOLE in a chunk of the city wall and didn’t fix it??? Surely someone needed to get fired? That could have cost countless lives, no? AND YET… the relationship between Ember and Wade is possibly the most mature, complex and beautiful pairing in all of Disney and Pixar combine. This was grown up exploration of relationships! I adored it, and praise it and could have watched their partnership unfold for hours. Their flaws, hopes, failings, quirks, stubbornness, wishes, tantrums… it was all so complex and intertwined AND NON-JUDGEMENTAL! The moral of the story was not “you must learn to control your temper” (like in Beauty and the Beast (1991)), instead it was ‘you have a temper, let’s explore that, talk about it but also it’s you, please don’t feel it’s a failing it’s who you are and I like you regardless’. THAT is adulting! That is a true relationship! Loved loved loved it!
~ rating: ★★★★☆ [grade: B+]
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THE SUPER MARIO BROTHERS MOVIE (2023)
dir. Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic
Oh this was so silly but so fun. I will say: this was made with love. The detailing was SO GOOD! The countless Easter eggs about the games had me squealing with joy throughout. The 2D chases, crawling along the pipes, King Ba-Bomb!!! I lost my sh*t when the blue shell was carted out!!! My only critique of these joyous nuggets was a sadness at the lack of Boos! Visually it was so pretty, and goodness I would play the game of this world! That Mario RPG can’t come out soon enough!! The voice cast were, by-and-large very good; with (surprisingly) Jack Black’s King Bowser stealing the show, both in depth and performance quality (also I never realised Bowser was a turtle!). And I appreciated including Charles Martinet, who voices Mario and Luigi in the games, having a role as their father (and the ‘Mario advert’ stereotypical Italian plumber). The only failing in voice was Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach. It was too… modern. I really wish the entertainment industry stopped confusing female strength with sass, kewl ass-kicking and being abrasive. Peach is kind, gentle, soft spoken AND SHE’S STILL STRONG! The idea gentle women aren’t strong is actually very insulting. Anyway, this is arguably the best film based on a computer game, ever??? I’m hard pressed to think of another as successful. The original Super Mario Bros (1993) is appalling, Street Fighter (1994) and Mortal Kombat (1995) are a no from me. The Tomb Raider films, the Resident Evil films, Prince of Persia (2010), Assassin’s Creed (2016), yuk yuk yuk. So kudos to this film, it had everything stacked against it and still delivered 93 mins of utter joy (also YES to films being an hour and a half again!). Lastly, special shout out to Lumalee, voiced by the director’s daughter; whoever came up with the idea of a nihilistic blue Luma spouting philosophy on death deserves a friggin’ medal!
★★★★☆ [grade: B+]
"We are Shakespeare. We are Michelangelo. We are Tchaikovsky. We are Turing. We are Mercury. We are Wilde. We are Lincoln, Lorca, Leonardo da Vinci. We are Alexander the Great. We are Fredrick the Great. We are Rustin. We are Addams. We are Marsha! Marsha Marsha Marsha! We so generous, we DeGeneres. We are Ziggy Stardust hooked to the silver screen. Controversially we are Malcolm X. We are Plato. We are Aristotle. We are RuPaul, god dammit! And yes, we are Woolf."