I thought I'd skip this one after seeing the preview, but I keep hearing good stuff. I feel like this has to be a date night movie though. I'd feel weird seeing it by myself I think.
Now I feel like a Compleat Idiot...we wait until SWMBO find's 'em on DVD or Blu-ray in a second hand store, then rip to my media server. If we don't like, it goes into the donate pile & gets deleted.
We're probably 8 or 10 years behind you people and falling further pretty fast.
P.S. How do those movies stack up against "Wait Until Dark"?
P.P.S - Or "Shadow of a Doubt"? "Hail the Conquering Hero"?
After reading Kenneth's list of films I thought he must have left something out by accident. Surely I've seen a couple other films that are better than at least half of those. I guess I really haven't. I agree with Joel's take on Asteroid City. At this point I'm just going to see whatever Wes Anderson produces no matter what, so he doesn't really even have to try anymore. Maybe he knows this.
I think the idea of seeing a Barbie/Oppenheimer opening day double feature (Barbenhiemer) is terrific.
Streaming is great because I can watch whatever I want whenever I want and there's no adds. Streaming is terrible because there are too many providers all with their own unique content and subscriptions and platforms and user interfaces. The answer is not more options on how to pay them for less content! I need all the content accessible from one interface that costs somewhere between $50-$100 month. We're right back where we started before we all cut the cable, but now we can watch anything, anytime, and add free. If I can dream it, they can do it.
I think Wes Anderson just wants to make the films he makes and as long as people keep paying for them, he'll keep making them. The only other director I can think of who had such a singularly focused career was Hitchcock, and he was absolutely trying to appeal to a mass audience where as Anderson only seems interested in appealing to the people who love Wes Anderson. All things considered, it's an incredible achievement that he's entering his third decade of movie-making not only successful but getting to work completely on his own terms.
Wes gest bit tarred with the brush of "well it's just the same movie again". Oppenheimer, just Nolan making the same color palette timey-wimey film with an emphasis on practical effects and IMAX cameras. Mission Impossible, just Tom Cruise doing more batsh*t stunts and McQuarrie repeating the same beats and emotional notes in new locations using toned down Abrams lens flare (oh, another director who does the same thing again and again) and lots of yellow/white filters. Even Ari Aster can get this criticism, he's making very visually similar movies dealing with very much similar themes.
As always you have to dig a bit deeper to find what makes each film unique. For Asteroid City i had great fun spending 105mins spotting all the homages, references, pastiches and nods to 50's Hollywood and sci-fi B-Movie history. Plus i'd say Asteroid City feels exactly like Wes is saying to the general public "I know you joke about my style, and i'm ok with it". That goddamn Bryan Cranston joke (won't spoil it here) as a direct shot back against his precise framing still makes me laugh a week later. Honestly this really felt like Wes back on truly top form after wobbles with Isle Of Dogs (that movie just does not work for me at all) and French Dispatch (i love it and Owen Wilsons opening 10min skit is an all time Wes Anderson high point, but it's so over stylised and dense it can't be recommended to anyone but a real fan).
Omg Hitchock is another level! Especially if like me you've also watched "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" TV series. He just straight copy-pastes scenes between projects, and copy-pastes entire films in the case of North by Northwest before changing the font and editing the margins. But damn, like with Wes, when you perfect that craft watching it again and again is so fun and doesn't matter in the slightest.
Don't take it as a complaint!! A lot of great directors tend to repeat their themes and interests, it's a natural tendency for artists of all types. Writers, musicians, painters, photographers, all sorts of artists tend to gravitate towards specific style, themes, and subjects repeatedly, it's natural. But Wes Anderson does it to such an extreme he has essentially established his own genre.
I didn't enjoy Isle of Dogs, I had a lot of problems with that one but it's a rare misfire for him.
We just saw Asteroid City and I laughed quite a bit, enjoyed it even though I'd be the first to admit that on some level Wes Anderson is basically making the same film over and over again, he just changes the setting and the color palette. Don't even care though.
My significant other really wanted to see Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret, and beyond having one of the most painful titles to either say out loud or type, it was pretty great and really true to the book (which is not something I need an adaptation to do at all, but even today that book brings up subjects most films and TV shows don't want to deal with).
Also excited to see Tom Cruise continue to try and kill himself on-screen. He has the most profitable (and prolific) death wish in the history of the world.
I still haven't seen the Spider-man movie, mainly because I'm super tired of the metaverse (same reason I just can't with anything Marvel is doing right now). Talk about beating a fertile idea straight into the earth's core in record time.
I am a dad and went to see the new Spider-Man with my (adult) kids. If I wasn’t with my family, I would have walked out in the first 10 minutes. Not sure what you saw in this show, Joe, but I thought it was terrible. I haven’t read comic books for a long time, so maybe they’ve changed way too dramatically to what Spider-Man was when I last read them, but this latest show didn’t resemble what Spider-Man was supposed to be by it’s original creator. They have butchered that idea.
Probably just comparing it to the other movies I had seen and other comic book movies so for me personally, it's a little more enjoyable, but I wouldn't personally recommend it for someone like me or you probably.
Movies! Ok i definitely wrote a way way way too long comment listing out various films i've seen and so on. But it's not my movie blog so i didn't post the review of the 15 films i've seen in cinemas and the 20+ i've done on Streaming. Instead...
You have Cocaine Bear too low, that film is just dumb as all hell and aware of it, so it comes out far more fun than irritating. Scream VI (IV was years ago :p) yeah, ending is a mess but overall i really like V & VI and what they are trying to do with the franchise.
Great article and nicely varied questions. I've said it before and i'll say it again, I love how this isn't just strictly Seahawks all the time. The diversions are always fun and unique and play a part in why I want to support you.
I've seen one movie at a theater in the past 5 years (or longer). I'm pretty much out on Hollywood these days, too many perverts and pedos and the woke crapola is just too much. I have little interest in supporting an industry like that.
Disney is a dumpster fire and I'm loving every second of it. Unfortunately the star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises are going down with the ship.
I follow The Critical Drinker for show and movie recs... his taste and mine seem to align.
I think things really started heading n the wrong direction when "12 Years a Slave" won best picture in 2013. It was an okay movie but I kept waiting for it to cover new ground on slavery but it was just Roots Lite. Boring and redundant yet it won best picture.
I appreciate the movie info. It's something I'm very innarested in as well. I've been curious about "Beau is Afraid," sounds like it's worth watching. I don't even think about watching the superhero movies, except maybe Batman, and that seems to be all we get these days!! A new Spiderman every six months. Excited for Dune Part 2, that should be good.
I could recommend Beau is Afraid to 10 people and I bet 3 would come back to me saying "Thanks for the rec!" and seven would say, "Why did you do that to me?"
I can't believe Killers of the Flower Moon is actually finally coming out. I feel like we've been looking at the one still with DiCaprio sitting at that table for a decade now.
No Hard Feelings with Jennifer Lawrence was actually really funny in theaters
I thought I'd skip this one after seeing the preview, but I keep hearing good stuff. I feel like this has to be a date night movie though. I'd feel weird seeing it by myself I think.
Thanks, gonna check it out!
Some Xs n Os viewing for the weekend, thanks for links, great stuff, need to work on the old football IQ!
Now I feel like a Compleat Idiot...we wait until SWMBO find's 'em on DVD or Blu-ray in a second hand store, then rip to my media server. If we don't like, it goes into the donate pile & gets deleted.
We're probably 8 or 10 years behind you people and falling further pretty fast.
P.S. How do those movies stack up against "Wait Until Dark"?
P.P.S - Or "Shadow of a Doubt"? "Hail the Conquering Hero"?
Thanks for the movie breakdown, Kenneth!
Thanks for the question!
After reading Kenneth's list of films I thought he must have left something out by accident. Surely I've seen a couple other films that are better than at least half of those. I guess I really haven't. I agree with Joel's take on Asteroid City. At this point I'm just going to see whatever Wes Anderson produces no matter what, so he doesn't really even have to try anymore. Maybe he knows this.
I think the idea of seeing a Barbie/Oppenheimer opening day double feature (Barbenhiemer) is terrific.
Streaming is great because I can watch whatever I want whenever I want and there's no adds. Streaming is terrible because there are too many providers all with their own unique content and subscriptions and platforms and user interfaces. The answer is not more options on how to pay them for less content! I need all the content accessible from one interface that costs somewhere between $50-$100 month. We're right back where we started before we all cut the cable, but now we can watch anything, anytime, and add free. If I can dream it, they can do it.
I think Wes Anderson just wants to make the films he makes and as long as people keep paying for them, he'll keep making them. The only other director I can think of who had such a singularly focused career was Hitchcock, and he was absolutely trying to appeal to a mass audience where as Anderson only seems interested in appealing to the people who love Wes Anderson. All things considered, it's an incredible achievement that he's entering his third decade of movie-making not only successful but getting to work completely on his own terms.
Woody Allen had a similar m. o. back in the day, about one quirky movie per year with some repeat actors, rarely a blockbuster.
Wes gest bit tarred with the brush of "well it's just the same movie again". Oppenheimer, just Nolan making the same color palette timey-wimey film with an emphasis on practical effects and IMAX cameras. Mission Impossible, just Tom Cruise doing more batsh*t stunts and McQuarrie repeating the same beats and emotional notes in new locations using toned down Abrams lens flare (oh, another director who does the same thing again and again) and lots of yellow/white filters. Even Ari Aster can get this criticism, he's making very visually similar movies dealing with very much similar themes.
As always you have to dig a bit deeper to find what makes each film unique. For Asteroid City i had great fun spending 105mins spotting all the homages, references, pastiches and nods to 50's Hollywood and sci-fi B-Movie history. Plus i'd say Asteroid City feels exactly like Wes is saying to the general public "I know you joke about my style, and i'm ok with it". That goddamn Bryan Cranston joke (won't spoil it here) as a direct shot back against his precise framing still makes me laugh a week later. Honestly this really felt like Wes back on truly top form after wobbles with Isle Of Dogs (that movie just does not work for me at all) and French Dispatch (i love it and Owen Wilsons opening 10min skit is an all time Wes Anderson high point, but it's so over stylised and dense it can't be recommended to anyone but a real fan).
Omg Hitchock is another level! Especially if like me you've also watched "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" TV series. He just straight copy-pastes scenes between projects, and copy-pastes entire films in the case of North by Northwest before changing the font and editing the margins. But damn, like with Wes, when you perfect that craft watching it again and again is so fun and doesn't matter in the slightest.
Don't take it as a complaint!! A lot of great directors tend to repeat their themes and interests, it's a natural tendency for artists of all types. Writers, musicians, painters, photographers, all sorts of artists tend to gravitate towards specific style, themes, and subjects repeatedly, it's natural. But Wes Anderson does it to such an extreme he has essentially established his own genre.
I didn't enjoy Isle of Dogs, I had a lot of problems with that one but it's a rare misfire for him.
I think my fav away game would be NYG just because NY is a great place to be. Least favorite would be Baltimore in early November. Yuck.
We just saw Asteroid City and I laughed quite a bit, enjoyed it even though I'd be the first to admit that on some level Wes Anderson is basically making the same film over and over again, he just changes the setting and the color palette. Don't even care though.
My significant other really wanted to see Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret, and beyond having one of the most painful titles to either say out loud or type, it was pretty great and really true to the book (which is not something I need an adaptation to do at all, but even today that book brings up subjects most films and TV shows don't want to deal with).
Also excited to see Tom Cruise continue to try and kill himself on-screen. He has the most profitable (and prolific) death wish in the history of the world.
I still haven't seen the Spider-man movie, mainly because I'm super tired of the metaverse (same reason I just can't with anything Marvel is doing right now). Talk about beating a fertile idea straight into the earth's core in record time.
Yeah, I think people have been hit with multiverse exhaustion
How did you miss The Room 20th anniversary in theaters?
It was SOLD OUT!
I am a dad and went to see the new Spider-Man with my (adult) kids. If I wasn’t with my family, I would have walked out in the first 10 minutes. Not sure what you saw in this show, Joe, but I thought it was terrible. I haven’t read comic books for a long time, so maybe they’ve changed way too dramatically to what Spider-Man was when I last read them, but this latest show didn’t resemble what Spider-Man was supposed to be by it’s original creator. They have butchered that idea.
The graphics were impressive though, I guess.
Probably just comparing it to the other movies I had seen and other comic book movies so for me personally, it's a little more enjoyable, but I wouldn't personally recommend it for someone like me or you probably.
Movies! Ok i definitely wrote a way way way too long comment listing out various films i've seen and so on. But it's not my movie blog so i didn't post the review of the 15 films i've seen in cinemas and the 20+ i've done on Streaming. Instead...
You have Cocaine Bear too low, that film is just dumb as all hell and aware of it, so it comes out far more fun than irritating. Scream VI (IV was years ago :p) yeah, ending is a mess but overall i really like V & VI and what they are trying to do with the franchise.
Great article and nicely varied questions. I've said it before and i'll say it again, I love how this isn't just strictly Seahawks all the time. The diversions are always fun and unique and play a part in why I want to support you.
I've seen one movie at a theater in the past 5 years (or longer). I'm pretty much out on Hollywood these days, too many perverts and pedos and the woke crapola is just too much. I have little interest in supporting an industry like that.
Disney is a dumpster fire and I'm loving every second of it. Unfortunately the star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises are going down with the ship.
I follow The Critical Drinker for show and movie recs... his taste and mine seem to align.
I think things really started heading n the wrong direction when "12 Years a Slave" won best picture in 2013. It was an okay movie but I kept waiting for it to cover new ground on slavery but it was just Roots Lite. Boring and redundant yet it won best picture.
https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/oscar-best-pictures-2015192/
I appreciate the movie info. It's something I'm very innarested in as well. I've been curious about "Beau is Afraid," sounds like it's worth watching. I don't even think about watching the superhero movies, except maybe Batman, and that seems to be all we get these days!! A new Spiderman every six months. Excited for Dune Part 2, that should be good.
I could recommend Beau is Afraid to 10 people and I bet 3 would come back to me saying "Thanks for the rec!" and seven would say, "Why did you do that to me?"
Same!
I can't believe Killers of the Flower Moon is actually finally coming out. I feel like we've been looking at the one still with DiCaprio sitting at that table for a decade now.