Movie/film suggestions.

@immatthewj there is a saying: "women hate women". The judge is doing everything she can to put her away. Either that or she is an incompetent judge. Maybe both. It's not looking great for Read, but at least the jury doesn't seem to think she killed him

Thank you for your kind words, @gano ; "very intelligent" is no doubt a stretch, but I am sure "strange" may be appropriate.  Back to The Brutalist quickly:

generally if a movie starts to bore me and does not develop into something that is going somewhere relatively quickly, I don't hang with it very long before I am switching channels.  Therefore I have been thinking and wondering why I sat through two hundred and some minutes of this film in one sitting.  All I can say is that I guess the acting was good enough and to me the plot was believable (considering the historical period that it was based on) and there was something about the dark and depraved nature of the whole ordeal that the protagonist was enduring (and this is what makes me think of a Russian novel) that held my interest.  (And my experience with Russian novels is limited, but the only one that I did read had sort of the same effect on me, but did not leave me with the burning desire to read more of them.)

A successful story usually has to have a protagonist and an antagonist that create conflict (I'd say that they had that base covered) and the protagonist should be one that the viewer or reader truly cares about (or "gives a damn about what happens to him or her" as one critic once told me), and I confess didn't feel an exceptional amount of that. But although I did not feel a tight connection to anyone in the film, it kept me engaged and interested enough  to not turn it off. For me it was quite watchable, maybe even good, but nowhere near approaching great.  For me, anyway.

BTW, have you been following the Karen Read?  Jury is out and from the questions they have sent the judge, the annalists all feel ng on murder 2 is a done deal and the jury wants to go ng on manslaughter but they have some differences on DUI.  And, apparently the way the verdict sheet reads, if they hang on DUI then they also default to hanging on manslaughter?  Seems pretty messed up if that's the way it is, but I do not have a legal mind.  I know a couple of things:  I have no desire to live in Ma. (which is not on the table anyway), and if I did, I'd stay a long way from Canton.

@immatthewj I am curious to anyone's opinion who liked The Brutalist. If I may say, especially yours because you are a very intelligent and strange (in a good way) individual. 

As I said, the second half was painful. Which implies the first half was OK,  for me, even enjoyable at times. The rape was symbolism I guess, I didn't like it but understood it. I am big architecture nerd which kept me going but it wasn't very entertaining on that front either. I wish the proceeds would have gone to save some buildings designed by Bauhaus people like Breuer and his contemporaries. They are actively deteriorating and being sold to build shopping malls in their place, so that bother me more than the movie. 

 

 I guess it struck me the way I imagine some old Russian novel would

That is spot on because the movie was very Eastern European in many ways. One: the dialogs and language were authentic - despite the pronunciation. 90% of the movie was shot in Hungary if not all. The style, cinematography was also very typical of Menzel, Forman, Jancso, Gothar, and I'd add Kusturica, my favorite but he is a bit less gloomy. Brody's character is spot on, the genius who is always unhappy and revels in his misery - Eastern European to the core.

. . . after reading your response/reaction, @gano , I engaged in further thought and I still cannot explain why I didn't mind watching The Brutalist.  I guess it struck me the way I imagine some old Russian novel would . . . twisting and dangling in a seemingly pointless and off beat way down seemingly pointless off beat paths, and I guess I just wanted to find out where the paths ultimately would end up.  I will say that I often watch a movie that I enjoy more than once, and I seriously doubt that I will ever watch this one again, but that still  doesn't mean that I found it to be a bad movie.

A couple of observations:  it struck me as unrealistic that the protagonist would be as productive as he was and also be an IV opiate user, but I guess there are exceptions to every rule.  I was left wondering if Zsofia's child was a product of interaction being forced upon her by Harry Lee Jr.  And the whole scene in which Van Buren Senior raped Laszlo left me clueless.  But leaving me clueless generally is not hard to do.

 

@gano , I do not know why I was drawn into The Brutalist . . . but I was. (I was surprised that AI told me that it was not based on fact, thanks for clearing that up.)  As far as DeNiro goes, I think he has gotten better with age, and I’d say the same for Pacino.  I forgot about Glengarry Glen Ross, yes, a great movie, but Heat?  A typical good guys/bad guys bang bang shoot ’em up that although I have been told was based on fact, came off as totally and completely unrealistic to me.  Good special effects and cinematography though.  I’ve watched it once completely start to finish, but have not ever been able to get through another complete viewing.

I like that he is very consistent, no weird embarrassing roles like De Niro would do. 

How about Dick Tracy?

As far as Detachment, what I didn’t say about that was that it had too many unrealistic depictions of events in it to be what I would consider a real good movie, but since I was on a Adrien Brody kick at the time, I threw it in there.  Not a great movie, but an okay watch.

I thought that Lions For Lambs was pretty good.  It had three rotating parallel stories going on simultaneously and a shorter flashback story.  Set in the period a few years after 9/11 while the subsequent middle east invasions/wars were happening, Robert Redford plays a professor in one of the stories giving counsel to a privileged and intelligent but lackadaisical student.  At the same time, in another story. Meryl Streep plays a journalist interviewing a GOP senator with a neocon world view played by Tom Cruise.  I enjoy Tom Cruise when he is out of his usual type cast roles.  In the other simultaneous story, two students (Michael Pena and Adrian Finch) that Redford had in his class prior are in Chinook helicopter over Afghanistan.   The brief flash back story shows the two students when they were in Redford’s class back before they joined the military and there is the contrast to be made.  Redford’s acting was strong in this movie.

@immatthewj I am not a huge Pacino fan but Dog Day Afternoon is irresistible. 

Glengarry Glenn Ross and the Heat are also ridiculously great performances. 

I like that he is very consistent, no weird embarrassing roles like De Niro would do. 

@immatthewj the Brutalist was loosely based on Marcel Breuer. His designs were in the movie. 

I thought it was terrible, incoherent, boring, I suffered through the second half. I was told by Hungarians that his Hungarian pronunciation and accent was unintelligible. You wouldn't know what he said, only from the subtitles. His English accent was also horrible. Yes, Marcel Breuer was brilliant, yes, he was a jerk to people, not sure which point the movie succeeded with and if it had to. I want my 3 hours back.

I was looking for any other Adrien Brody movies that I thought might be interesting, and of course the star studded The Thin Red Line (1998) came up, but the one I thought was more thought provoking was Detachment (2011) with a cast that also included James Caan and Lucy Liu.  Brody plays an educator who makes a career of substitute teaching, and in this setting he is subbing at a low achieving high school  where most of the students don't have any desire to be there or to learn anything.  In this dark film with a secondary underlying dark layer (which was not a comedy although James Caan did elicit a snort of laughter from me two or three times) he tries to do the right thing and although he does see some results, there are also what seem to be two major backfires. It really appears as if there will be no redemption whatsoever at the end, and imo it would have been more impactful if there wasn't, but the ending offers a glimmer of something that the viewer can make up her or his own mind on how heart warming it actually is.

The Brutalist (2024) with Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce  was a long movie (over 200 minutes) and I had not intended on watching the entire movie in one sitting, but it was kind of like a book that keeps you turning pages and you don’t put down because you want to see what happens next and where it ultimately winds up going.  After it was over, I did think that maybe it was based on a true story, but a cursory google came up with AI saying "no."  However, it was an interesting movie that dealt with historical events.

And speaking of Adrien Brody, I always thought that Summer Of Sam (1999) was a fantastic movie with a good cast that included Brody, John Laguizamo, Mira Sorvino, Mike Starr, Ben Gazzara, Jimmy Breslin and Spike Lee who had an acting role and I believe he also directed the film.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve watched it, but it was one I wouldn’t have a problem watching again.  

And I made a passing reference to Phil Spector (2013) before in this thread, but I’ll mention it again because HBO is featuring it, and comcast has seen fit to give me free HBO this week.  Al Pacino played the starring role of Phil Spector, and as an Al Pacino fan, this was one of my favorite performances by him (Donnie Brasco and Scent Of A Woman are way up there on my list as well).  The movie focuses on Spector’s defense in the first trial which ended in a hung jury, and presents an alternative theory to that of Spector sticking the barrel of a .38 special in Lana Clarkson’s mouth and pulling the trigger. 

Helen Mirren played his lead attorney who started out quite skeptical but later became convinced of reasonable doubt.  Jeffrey Tambor was also cast as Bruce Cutler, the attorney who got Linda Kenney Baden (Helen Mirren) to represent Spector.  What I found interesting was that Rebecca Pidgeon was cast as Dr. Fallon who I believe (because I have not rewatched the movie yet) was a consultant for the defense.  I found that interesting because on Pidgeon’s Chesky produced CD, The Raven (1994), she performs a hauntingly beautiful cover of Spanish Harlem.

The Wizard Of Lies (2017), starring Robert DeNiro as Bernie Madoff and Michelle Pfeiffer as his wife (Ruth) was quite well done and rather fascinating.  I cannot imagine living in a world where people treat a million dollars more casually than I treat one hundred.  

Free HBO this week, so I killed two birds with one stone:  first bird was I watched Alto Knights (2025), and the second bird was I didn’t have to rent it.  The film portrays a version of the feud between Vito Genovese and Frank Costello and concludes with a version of the Apalachin meeting of 1957.  Robert Deniro played the roles of Genovese AND Costello.  I am not crazy about that kind of technique, but I guess he pulled it off.   

If you don't mind watching a two hour movie, I thought that Our Friend (2021) was a realistic and moving portrayal of a family effected by terminal cancer.  I didn't realize until the final credits that it was based on the real life story of Nicole Teague (played by Dakota Johnson), her journalist husband Matt Teague (Casey Affleck), and their friend Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel).  I learned in the final credits that Matt Teague wrote the nonfiction and it was published in Esquire titled as The Friend before being adapted for film.  A google revealed that there are some very minor nits between the film version and Matt Teague's original published nonfictional account, but all in all, quite minor.  For my own nits, there was one hole I couldn't quite resolve for my own understanding, but this may have been due to the quality of the audio on some of Affleck's dialogue and my own hearing limitations.  I would also say that for someone in the latter stages of terminal cancer, I would expect that person to look a lot worse (physical appearance wise) than Dakota Johnson did in the movie.

BUT:  the script was tight and engaging, the dialogue was excellent and well delivered by all of the actors, and the decline of Nicole Teague and the undying loyalty of Dane Faucheux was nearly heart breaking.  If not the best, certainly way up there with one of the best cancer movies I have ever watched.

I had a 6' 9" Irish ex-rugby player staying at my house. He is a Richard Harris fan, so I streamed "This Sporting Life," which I had watched many years ago. It was a much more complex and interesting film than I had remembered. Recommended.

@puptent 

“O Lucky Man!” and Alan Price.

Everyone check out the original soundtrack LP on Warner Bros. Records. The recording is right up there with the best vocal scores from any film from the 70s. A great recording.

Alan Price keyboardist from “The Animals” and his own “Alan Price Set” went solo and wrote the lyrics. He performed (and on piano) O Lucky Man!, Poor People, Sell Sell, Justice, and Look Over Your Shoulder for the 1973 film, and composed all the instrumental music.

I enjoyed The Pledge, 2001 (starring Jack Nicholson and a great supporting cast which included Robin Wright, Benicio Del Toro, Dale Dickey, Aaron Eckhardt, Mickey Rourke, Sam Shepard, Harry Dean Stanton).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, Lucky Man" Alan Price's soundtrack is sublime, and he's a character in the film. A Lindsay Anderson film, Malcolm McDowell stars. If you find a copy, treasure it.

 

 

 

 

Just finished "Begin Again". A music oriented film with Keira Knightly and Mark Ruffalo. Highly enjoyable.

May have mentioned before .....watched "Rudderless" again. Enjoyed it as much or more than when it was first released. William H. Macy's directorial debut. Great cast, story, and music.

I love the D Train. It is so uncomfortable

Yes, @gano , there were some uncomfortable sequences, but Jack Black made them hilarious.  I laughed out loud at least two or three times.  Probably more.

greetings kind regards

Lonely Are The Brave Dr. Strangelove 2001: A Space Odyssey also Spartacus. i see a pattern here . his later works less so especially Eyes Wide Shut as it seemed pointless and bizarre . am fond of anti-war films also Kirk Douglas . Dr. Strangelove and HAL 9000 are my favorite film characters . glad i did not forget A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum . the special effects in the original Metropolis are amazing even brilliant . .

cheerios

@immatthewj I love the D Train. It is so uncomfortable and heart-warming, I have to re-watch it every once in a while. It makes me think what I would do for popularity (no, not Marsden, but Mercury, perhaps, who knows), as I was way more of a Dan in high school than Oliver.

Setting aside Directors and Actors, for Audio Quality and Audio Impression the use of Q Sound in a Soundtrack can have a very profound effect whilst watching a movie, especially where certain sounds are much much more realistic when heard.

Two Movies known are Asteroid and Heat, there are others, Heat was superb when seen at the cinema, and this sound impression even though not grand scale, can still be transferred through a typical TV Speaker. On a dedicated system for Movies and Audio, I can only believe something special will be presented.  

Gone With The Wind, even though it "ain't fittin'".

I watched The D Train tonight (Jack Black, James Marsden, Jeffrey Tambor, Kathryn Hahn) and it was good for a few genuine laughs.  

@slaw , I found A Single Shot to be watchable and engaging, and although I've never felt the need to see it more than once, I do remember that I enjoyed it.

Currently watching a movie I just came across, "A Single Shot" with Sam Rockwell. William H Macy plays a local attorney, set in the hills of West Virginia with dark themes and an overall dark atmosphere...my kind of movie! Just got three star rating on Prime but never can tell.

@immatthewj Karen Read is an interesting character. Definitely spoiled, white privileged lady, the type of well-to-do liberal who does not help the cause. The type who wants to talk to the manager in the restaurant before she's seated. Regardless, if there is reasonable doubt, she must walk. The investigation was botched in 10+ ways. It was a shame there is a 2nd trial. I think it was a misogynist jury in the first trial. If there is such a thing as circumstantial exculpatory evidence, there was a ton of it. All the cops involved are despicable.

Btw I don’t know if Karen Read is guilty. Based on everything we know, she has no clue either. She was so wasted, she barely remembers getting home. What’s disgusting though is how the police acted. Just above the law all the way brotherhood.

@gano ,   I have formed an opinion, but my opinion does not matter.  With time on my hands, it does make for interesting viewing.  I give the defense credit for opting to start presenting their case Friday as opposed to waiting for Monday, and immediately following the prosecution's expert with their own.  All I can get from those experts is that I don't know who to believe.  Which may work for the defense.  Another interesting aspect that has developed is the prosecution not calling Procter and the defense doesn't appear to want to call him because (apparently due to the rules pertaining to direct and cross) they wanted him on cross and did not want the defense to get him on cross.  A bit of a chess match going on.

As far as Judge Cannone, the majority of the podcasters I have watched are calling her all the way from biased to corrupt.  I don't know enough about the system to form opinions on that, but what I did find interesting are the video clips (from the doc Ms. Read made) that the judge allowed the prosecution to present.  I am not sure that I can see the evidentiary value in them.

@slaw Crazy Heart is a classic. It reminds me several of my alcoholic friends. An amazing performance from all 4: Bridges, Gyllenhaal, Duvall, Farrell.

Has anyone seen Alto Knights yet?

it's continuing, not evolving, I would say

Why is this thread devolving?

@cleeds perhaps I confuse you with someone, i am easily confused. I can't keep up with the various aliases who attack me/pick a fight with me

gano

... because of our very serious differences, I don’t comment on what you write, partly for my mental health ...

This is the first I’ve heard of such "very serious differences," @gano.  I can’t imagine what they are. Really. Perhaps you have me confused with someone else. In any event, of course you’re free to avoid responding to me. There’s no obligation on your part.

My best to you.

^😎

Dead Presidents. Fantastic soundtrack also, Issac Hayes’ version of Hal David  and Burt  Bacharach,s “walk on by” worth the price of admission alone.

This one's outta left field: Mickey 17. Even at over two hours long I found it enjoyable and witty as it touched on many things we either take for granted or actually wonder about. Directed by Bong Jo Hoon (who did Parasite), it's both quaintly weird and engaging at the same time.

All the best,
Nonoise

"Crazy Heart"....been a while since I saw it but remember it fondly, especially the soundtrack. Maggie Gyllenhaal was cute as a button.

@cleeds because of our very serious differences, I don't comment on what you write, partly for my mental health, partly to not derail the threads.

 

I don't think my views on ethics has to be defended or argued since it's just an opinion nothing more, not right, not wrong, just what I feel. However I don't argue about facts.

 

Well, Todd got two jobs for his 'service' (he primarily scowled and kept a certain someone from testifying because he'd incriminate himself). One is deputy DA and the other is acting head of Library of Congress. 

I have a dark sense of humor and even I can't muster up the faintest of smiles on that one. 

All the best,
Nonoise

gano

Todd Blanche was a prosecutor and then defended the last person one should defend if you are serious about law and order. So I don’t understand lawyer’s logic and ethics. 

Everyone is entitled to a fair trial, at least in theory.

"We have the best justice system money can buy."

@immatthewj Todd Blanche was a prosecutor and then defended the last person one should defend if you are serious about law and order. So I don’t understand lawyer’s logic and ethics. 

Funny you mention Cut Bank: a very similar production story is Virgin River. According to the original script: somewhere in Utah, according to the series script it’s in Humboldt county, CA. In reality it’s East of Vancouver. However, it’s a Hallmark story which is always in some imaginary land but still. It’s a disservice to Humboldt county, the home Redwoods among other things. So, yes, location matters.

Btw I don’t know if Karen Read is guilty. Based on everything we know, she has no clue either. She was so wasted, she barely remembers getting home. What’s disgusting though is how the police acted. Just above the law all the way brotherhood.

. . .  @gano , speaking of Whitey Bulger movies and  the Karen Read trial, doesn't it seem rather ironic that a lawyer who once represented Bulger in a murder trial  would now be a special prosecutor in a case against someone who is alleged to have run down a police officer?

I guess a job is a job and a paycheck is a paycheck.

 

"Bugsie" Warren Beaty

I enjoyed Bugsy when I first rented the VHS tape a long long time ago, @slaw , and I rewatched it a year or two or three ago, and I still found it enjoyable.  I’ve been considering renting Alto Knights from "on demand" as it’s only a $5.99 rental now, but I pat Xfinity so effing much for my bundle, not paying extra for rentals has become a principle thing for me.

There’s a couple more I’d like to see that are rentals, but I might break down--Drug Store June (looks mildly hilarious), Winner (supposed to be about Reality Winner) and The Friend (a dog movie starring Bill Murray, and I like Bill Murray, but I like good dog movies even more).

@gano , well, we both appreciated Gone Baby Gone.

In The Departed, I also thought Alec Baldwin's role was convincing.

But as far as

But movies to happen in Boston and shot in Seattle is a crime - like a A Million Little Things...

that would ruin it for me as well, and I thought maybe you were referring to The Departed, and at that point I was going to scratch that movie off of my list of favorites.  I googled it and it appears that it was filmed in Boston and NYC.  That does knock it down a notch or two on my list.

I don't know if you've ever seen the movie Cut Bank, but my advice is not to waste your time.  Just one of the many things that are wrong with it is that they made a movie that theoretically took place in Cut Bank, Montana, and they actually went as far as using that for the title, but it was filmed in a couple of towns quite a bit further north up in Alberta.  If that's what they wanted to do, that's fine, but I don't see the point in trying to dress the set up to look like Cut Bank (which they failed at) instead of titling the film Innisfree or Edmonton.  Out of curiosity, I googled the film, and according to The Great Falls Tribune, the residents of the real-life town of Cut Bank don't feel as I do.  Which I find interesting, because (again imo) the film makes them look like a bunch of hicks and Cut Bank more of a hick town than it actually is.  And I am not typing that because I have any wish to prop that town up.  Because I don't.

 

 

@immatthewj well, I should be fair.

In the Departed, there were several epic performances. Martin Sheen before he was thrown down, his performance was incredible. He is a genius. DiCaprio, Wahlberg were a delight. It has many incredible episodes and moments.

I remember your ranting on Yellowstone and you are the expert in that. To be honest, I was in Boston a few months ago and it has become a freak-show and watered down, but my memories of it and my compassion/passion will never change. It is the ultimate movie location when it is done right. Don't get me started on every movie in Europe, shot in Hungary/Budapest. But movies to happen in Boston and shot in Seattle is a crime - like a A Million Little Things...

 

"Bugsie" Warren Beaty

That's interesting, @gano , and I can understand where your personal perspective enters into it.  (As for myself, I cannot stand Yellowstone.)  I only have preconceived notions of Boston, but if I had the personal connection that you described, I would not be able to get enough of Black Mass.  As it is, I will watch it whenever it's on a movie channel without commercials and unedited.  (And not because of Johhny Depp.)  I really get a kick out of the interaction with the Halloran character that Sarsgaard portrayed.   In the Departed, I remember a scene that I enjoyed where Nicholson came out of the backroom of the bar to talk to DiCaprio and he (Nicholson) was all blood spattered and kind of happy looking.  Whatever was happening back there, the viewer knows it was bad but apparently business as per usual.  Another scene that I found memorable was the one (I think it was Nicholson and Dicaprio's first meeting) where Nicholson hands DiCaprio a severed hand in a freezer bag to dispose of.

Anyway . . . ramble on. . .   

btw the Karen Read trial is a very dark and typical Bostonian story, it will be a movie for sure