The Cinema Thread

[Whack9]

I wonder if it was the mullica river.

Long day trip, no camping. Given the longish drive more southerly and more accessible seem likely. I found this list, but nothing rings a bell.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category: ... ew_Jersey)

I got a faint tickle for Toms River, but nothing to bet on. Back then my adult buddy with a canoe did most or all of the planning and navigation. We paddled all over MD, some PA and VA, and this one NJ trip.

Ah yeah it could be any of those really. I'm only familiar with the more southern portion of the barrens.

[Vrede too]

Attack the Block (2011)

Attack the Block is a 2011 British science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker and Nick Frost. It was the film debut of Cornish, Boyega and composer Steven Price.

The film centres on a teenage street gang who have to defend themselves from predatory alien invaders on a council estate in South London on Guy Fawkes Night....

Critical response

Attack the Block received acclaim from critics. Review aggregation Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 90% based on 183 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Effortlessly mixing scares, laughs, and social commentary, Attack the Block is a thrilling, briskly-paced sci-fi yarn with a distinctly British flavor." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews"....

Attack the Block was revisited by critics following the casting of its two lead actors as stars of flagship science fiction franchises – Boyega as Finn in Star Wars and Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor in Doctor Who. In a 2017 retrospective, Tom Philip writing for GQ described the film as "one of the most confidently-delivered debut feature films in recent memory" and said it "still stands out as one of the best genre-mashup films of the decade", while Nathan Rabin for Rotten Tomatoes said that the film deserved cult status and called it "a star-making vehicle in the truest sense". It was listed among Wired Magazine's best films of the 2010s.

Awards

[Whack9]

This was a really good documentary. I highly recommend it.

Living in the Future's Past is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Susan Kucera, and produced and narrated by Jeff Bridges. The film features Bridges and several scientists and intellectuals discussing how biology, physics, economics, and politics have contributed to the ongoing crises such as climate change and resource depletion. The film features interviews with Bruce Hood, Wesley Clark, Daniel Goleman, Bob Inglis, Oren Lyons, Leonard Mlodinow, Timothy Morton, Mark Plotkin, Ian Robertson, Piers Sellers, and others.

[Vrede too]

This was a really good documentary. I highly recommend it.

Living in the Future's Past is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Susan Kucera, and produced and narrated by Jeff Bridges. The film features Bridges and several scientists and intellectuals discussing how biology, physics, economics, and politics have contributed to the ongoing crises such as climate change and resource depletion. The film features interviews with Bruce Hood, Wesley Clark, Daniel Goleman, Bob Inglis, Oren Lyons, Leonard Mlodinow, Timothy Morton, Mark Plotkin, Ian Robertson, Piers Sellers, and others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJV0Kx7oGxU

Thanks. 83% Tomatometer, 84% Audience Score

The Dude abides.

[Whack9]

Really good documentary. Also really sad.

Oxyana

Oceana was once a thriving mining community tucked away in the Appalachian Mountains; now it is a destitute hinterland ravaged by its addiction to Oxycontin. Filmmaker Sean Dunne reveals the lives of addicts living in Oceana.

Full documentary

[Vrede too]

Frozen River
2008, Drama, 1h 36m

88% Tomatometer, 74% Audience Score

After her husband deserts her, working-class mother Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo) is in great need of money to find a home. Lured by the possibility of easy cash, Ray joins Lila (Misty Upham) a widowed Mohawk who earns a living by smuggling immigrants from Canada to the U.S. across the St. Lawrence.

The WEATHER channel has been showing it. Next: Saturday at 12:00 AM EST.

[Whack9]

Big Money Rustlas - A western starting Insane Clown Posse

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1380784/

In the Wild West town of Mudbug, Sheriff Sugar Wolf arrives to confront an over-the-top villain, Big Baby Chips.

[GoCubsGo]

Big Money Rustlas - A western starting Insane Clown Posse

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1380784/

In the Wild West town of Mudbug, Sheriff Sugar Wolf arrives to confront an over-the-top villain, Big Baby Chips.

Good weed?

[Vrede too]

Places in the Heart is a 1984 American film written and directed by Robert Benton. It stars Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Ray Baker, Amy Madigan, John Malkovich, Danny Glover, Jerry Haynes and Terry O'Quinn. The film's narrative follows Edna Spalding, a young woman during the Great Depression in Texas who is forced to take charge of her farm after the death of her husband and is helped by a motley bunch.

Places in the Heart premiered at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear, while Benton won the Silver Bear for Best Director. It was theatrically released on September 21, 1984 by Tri-Star Pictures to critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised Benton's screenplay and direction and performances of the cast (particularly of Field, Malkovich and Crouse), while the film grossed $34.9 million against a $9.5 million budget. The film received seven nominations at the 57th Academy Awards including for the Best Picture and won two: Best Actress (for Field), and Best Original Screenplay.

Sally Field wins SAG award life achievement



Sally Field Hailed For Self-Aware 'White Girl' Speech At SAG Awards
The two-time Oscar winner spoke from places in the heart about her white privilege.

It should be everyone’s goal in life to be as self-aware as Sally Field.

NOT ME CRYING OVER SALLY FIELD'S SAG SPEECH

easy is overrated !

[Vrede too]

Big Money Rustlas - A western starring Insane Clown Posse

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1380784/

In the Wild West town of Mudbug, Sheriff Sugar Wolf arrives to confront an over-the-top villain, Big Baby Chips.

How was it?

Anti-Insane Clown Posse , 2 better than average Hallmark dramas, both inspiring, both based on irl memoirs:

Beyond the Blackboard (2011)
Starring Emily VanCamp
A 24-year-old first-time teacher overcomes her initial fears and prejudices and makes a difference in the lives of the homeless children she teaches in a shelter's makeshift classroom.
7.6/10 IMDb
81% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes

A Smile as Big as the Moon (2011)
1st ever special education class to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Several actors playing students in the film have Down syndrome, autism and/or learning disabilities. According to the end notes Space Camp now has programs for all types of students.
7.6/10 IMDb
72% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes

[Vrede too]

World War Z (2013)

Fast zombies, Brad Pitt, plausible plot, inventive action and lots of it - what's not to like?

[billy.pilgrim]

World War Z (2013)

Fast zombies, Brad Pitt, plausible plot, inventive action and lots of it - what's not to like?

The ads for the movie made it out to be so different than the book that I never had an interest in watching.

[Vrede too]

World War Z (2013)

Fast zombies, Brad Pitt, plausible plot, inventive action and lots of it - what's not to like?

The ads for the movie made it out to be so different than the book that I never had an interest in watching.

I've never read the book. I'm not sure if I've ever read a zombie book ... other than parts of the New Testament.

The reviews are mixed, but on balance positive:

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, World War Z has a 66% approval rating, based on 279 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10; the site's critical consensus reads: "It's uneven and diverges from the source book, but World War Z still brings smart, fast-moving thrills and a solid performance from Brad Pitt to the zombie genre." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale....

Rotten Tomatoes 72% Audience Score

[Vrede too]

I just learned that 30 year old Donnie Wahlberg's acting career was jump-started by his role as murdering, suicidal, grown up patient Vincent Grey in 1999's The Sixth Sense. Almost unrecognizable to me:



Bravo. Maybe if I had been a New Kids on the Block fan . It was followed by 2001's great Band of Brothers, which we've discussed here, and eventually 13 years on Blue Bloods, which I'm not a fan of.

[Vrede too]

Lackawanna Blues (film)

... For her work in the movie, S. Epatha Merkerson won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2006.

Premise

Lackawanna Blues is the true story of Ruben Santiago Jr. growing up in Lackawanna, New York. He was raised by his father and mother and the neighborhood boarding house lady known as Rachel "Nanny" Crosby....

Nanny more or less took care of Ruben Jr. as a mother figure. The television movie depicts his life growing up there and the diverse characters that he meets during his and their stays at the boarding house.

Rotten Tomatoes: 75% Tomatometer, 91% Audience Score
Upcoming: Sunday at 2:00 AM on Bounce TV

[Vrede too]

On the Basis of Sex (2018 film)

for the movie.
for Notorious RBG!
Tomatometer 72%, Audience Score 76%
I can't believe it took me so long to see it. No major Awards, but I think Felicity Jones is brilliant in it, as is her movie daughter, Cailee Spaeny. Pretty cool that RBG lived long enough to briefly appear at the end, and to see the movie.

[Vrede too]

The Invisible Man (2020 film)

The Invisible Man is a 2020 science fiction horror film written and directed by Leigh Whannell. It is based on H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and the eighth installment in The Invisible Man franchise. It stars Elisabeth Moss as a woman who believes she is being stalked and gaslit by her seemingly deceased ex-boyfriend (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) after he acquires the ability to become invisible....



The Invisible Man was released in the United States on February 28, 2020. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Moss's performance and themes on domestic abuse. The film was also a commercial success, grossing $145 million worldwide against a $7 million budget....

Career making net!

Critical response

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 92% of 418 reviews of the film were positive with an average rating of 7.7/10 (88% Audience Score). The site's critics consensus reads: "Smart, well-acted, and above all scary, The Invisible Man proves that sometimes, the classic source material for a fresh reboot can be hiding in plain sight." As of 2022, Rotten Tomatoes ranks it as the 9th best horror film of all time....

[Whack9]

I watched the 1991 movie Nothing But Trouble last night.

One of the characters was John Candy dressed as a woman.

The woke agenda just keeps spreading. Even to the past.

[Vrede too]

I watched the 1991 movie Nothing But Trouble last night.

One of the characters was John Candy dressed as a woman.

The woke agenda just keeps spreading. Even to the past.

Apparently, the anti-woke agenda has also spread to the past. I never knew that this re-evaluation and debate has been going on:

‘Forrest Gump,’ 25 Years Later: A Bad Movie That Gets Worse With Age
"Gump" backlash is nothing new. But these days, it's even more problematic than it used to be.

I can't argue with any of the author's points. I do remember being uncomfortable with the simplistic treatment of Vietnam. Otoh, part of me wants to cleave to:

... Zemeckis argued that he was playing to both sides of the aisle. “My film is a party to which everyone can bring a bottle,” he said. And when producer Steve Tish accepted his Oscar for Best Picture, he took it to the masses: “‘Forrest Gump’ isn’t about politics or conservative values. It’s about humanity.” Hanks echoed that sentiment. “The film is nonpolitical,” he said, “and thus nonjudgemental.” ...

Wiki: Re-evaluation

... In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter polled hundreds of academy members, asking them to re-vote on past controversial decisions. Academy members said that, given a second chance, they would award the 1994 Oscar for Best Picture to The Shawshank Redemption instead.

I agree with that. I might have even agreed with it back then. Maybe I'll skip ever watching Forrest Gump again.

[Vrede too]

Tom Hanks Names Who Should Play Him In A Biopic And It's So Meta
The "Forrest Gump" star has a certain Oscar-winning actor in mind. (audio and video)

Make a guess before scrolling.

... “Because of deepfake technology and AI, I believe I can play myself,” the Oscar-winning actor quipped to MSNBC’s Ari Melber in a lengthy interview that aired Wednesday.

Melber asked if it would actually be Hanks on the screen if deepfake footage was involved.

“I don’t know, but even if I’m dead and gone, my intellectual property rights will still be in place and I’ll still get paid,” Hanks joked.

While Hanks’ comments may have been tongue-in-cheek, the challenges being brought by the new technology appear to be on his mind.

On the latest episode of British comedian Adam Buxton’s podcast, Hanks acknowledged the legal and artistic issues the movie industry is now facing.

There is now the possibility of pitching “a series of seven movies that would star me in them, in which I would be 32 years old, from now until kingdom come,” Hanks noted.

“Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deepfake technology,” Hanks continued. “Because look, I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on and on.”

“And outside of the understanding that it’s been done with AI or deepfake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone,” he said. “Without a doubt, people will be able to tell, but the question is will they care?”

“There are some people that won’t care, that won’t make that delineation,” Hanks added.

I don't think I like that.

Note: I first went to post this in the 'Artificial intelligence and the future' thread, but that would have given away my opening challenge.