Watched The Penguin Lessons, really enjoyed it.
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If you haven’t seen the 1955 Max Ophuls classic, “Lola Montes“ in a while, you may be interested to know that the original has been re-cut and remastered in such a way as to more closely reflect the late director’s vision. I found it a changed thing from the film I saw from the back row of a science classroom 50 years ago; much lighter and more allegorical than I remember. And, Peter Ustinov a much more central character. Worth seeing even if for the first time.
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One Battle After Another (2025) - IMDb sean penn plays an extreme right wing soldier who can’t come to terms with his preferences.
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Somehow I managed to watch two Pedro Pascal movies in a row last night and tonight.
I liked the first one better - The Fantastic Four: First Steps on Disney+. It was of interest to me because it was a very big deal at Comic-Con in July. I especially liked the retro look and style - overall a fun movie; I am somewhat a fan of superhero movies. It was a change of pace from the Avengers movies. Not only was The Mandalorian starring as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, but Cousin Richie from The Bear starred as Ben Grimm/The Thing.
Tonight I watched Materialists on HBO Max. It was adequate but I did have trouble staying awake. In this film, The Mandalorian is one of two love interests of the Fifty Shades girl; the other was Captain America. Pedro Pascal was charming as always; Dakota Johnson was luminous in looks (not sure I bought her character), and Chris Evans was somewhat unbelievable as a struggling actor. I admit I would rather have seen in order: Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth, or Chris Pratt.
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Bugonia - Black comedy? Thriller? Horror? All wrapped up with a bow. I’m a huge Jesse Plemons fan and he doesn’t disappoint as a conspiracy theorist. It delves into misinformation, alienation and humanity. The actor who plays Plemon’s best friend in the film is Aidan Delbis. This is his first film credit. He is on the autism spectrum and was cast through the Miracle Project, an inclusive theatre in LA.
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It’s really long, isn’t it? Did it feel long?
Just saw “Train Dreams”. What a disappointment. Again I went with the 4 star review (out of 4 stars) by someone at Roger Ebert (Brian Tallerico who I usually like). Slow, sad, heavy handed, disjointed. The narrator made you think it was a documentary but the obvious plot twists and developments felt like an intense Hallmark movie. With just the right amount of PC elements. By comparison (similar plot device) Manchester by the Sea was SO much better – better performances, better story, better knit. I would skip it if I were you.
DH and I are going to see “Nuremberg” tomorrow. In the trailer, Russell Crowe looks so heavy! I looked up how much he had to gain for the movie, and it turns out it was nothing, he was already large. He weighed 277 pounds at the end of filming, and in the past year has gotten down to 222 pounds.
I’m still in my WWII phase since our May visit to Poland, so I’m looking forward to this. I’m reading a similar book in which a psychiatrist spent hours with the commandant of the Treblinka camp.
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can empathize when things are slow, I’d check the time. not here. it flew by.
I think downton abbey is now streaming on peacock, looking forward to it.
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We thought “Nuremberg” was excellent, but tough to watch. The movie seems to stick to the basic facts of the trial pretty closely. It was sad to read what happened to the psychiatrist after the war. I think realizing what humans are capable of was too devastating for him.
Goering’s last answer in the trial was truly chilling. It’s hard for me to process it.
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I thought House of Dynamite was excellent and scary. We have a family friend who was integral to the 9/11 continuity of government action, so it was interesting to see a dramatic representation of the process. The movie is thought provoking, and I think the ending was appropriate.
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Watched the John Candy documentary. Sweet and sad and touching.
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