What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[LizzieMaine]

"Grandma" a terrible movie about a grandmother - Lily Tomlin - helping her +/- 16 year old granddaughter raise money for the granddaughter's abortion, which she absolutely wants to have today. Since neither have any money and neither wants to ask the scary mother for money, they run around trying to scrounge up the funds. Yup, that's the plot.

Throw in that the grandmother is angry in general, a lesbian who just broke up with her preposterously much younger girlfriend and the granddaughter's complete tool of a former "boyfriend" (the baby's father) and you have most of the key elements of the movie.

I will always respect Lily Tomlin for this one quote: "No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up."

But she is no actress. The only real actor in the entire movie appears when Sam Elliot makes a cameo and shows everyone else what acting is.

This is just an awful movie.

We had that one earlier this year -- the latest in the "free-spirited/wacky old lady" genre specifically engineered to appeal to middle-class white Boomer women who consider themselves rebels against expectation because they dye a green streak into their hair. Since that's pretty much our breadbasket demographic it did reasonably well, but I'm as sick of that whole formula as you are. It's trite, patronizing, and completely transparent.

 

[Fading Fast]

[QUOTE="Fading Fast, post: 2162375, member: 26387

I will always respect Lily Tomlin for this one quote: "No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up."
But she is no actress.

She is, however, hilarious as Ernestine from The Phone Company:

[/QUOTE]

She is definitely a comedian, she is definitely not an actress.

 

[Fading Fast]

We had that one earlier this year -- the latest in the "free-spirited/wacky old lady" genre specifically engineered to appeal to middle-class white Boomer women who consider themselves rebels against expectation because they dye a green streak into their hair. Since that's pretty much our breadbasket demographic it did reasonably well, but I'm as sick of that whole formula as you are. It's trite, patronizing, and completely transparent.

The plot had so many holes that it made you feel stupid - and I'm pretty forgiving as most plots have to be contrived to get a lot in, in a few hours. To your point, it seems that they had a demographic they wanted and, then, reverse engineered a story - the rebel older Boomer - to fit it.

And I stayed away form its politics (both out of respect for this forum's rules and because I'm sick of it anyway), but regardless of your political views, the politics in the movie were heavy handed and handled very sloppily. Even the politics I agreed with made me cringe.

And say what we all do about Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and a few others getting all the roles for older, white women, after seeing Lily Tomlin try to carry a movie, I think I understand why.

 

[Ticklishchap]

She is, however, hilarious as Ernestine from The Phone Company:

She is definitely a comedian, she is definitely not an actress.[/QUOTE]
Or comedienne, surely?

 

[Fading Fast]

She is definitely a comedian, she is definitely not an actress.

Or comedienne, surely?[/QUOTE]

There are people who don't believe political correctness exists and they are the same who won't be happy with your gender distinction.

 

[Ticklishchap]

Or comedienne, surely?

There are people who don't believe political correctness exists and they are the same who won't be happy with your gender distinction.[/QUOTE]

Political Correctness is a continuation of Puritanism by other means.

 

[Fading Fast]

I chose my words very, very carefully. I wasn't commenting on the good or bad of PC, I was just making the observation that those who advocate for gender neutral titles also tend to be the same who don't think PC exists or is a driving force today.

Relevant to this thread though, if we are going to get rid of the actor / actresses nomenclature since everyone is just an actor, then the Oscars, IMHO, should do away with the best actress award and just give an Oscar to the best actor (or give two out a year to keep the award numbers the same) since they are always judging actors or actresses playing different roles from each other anyway. If they are all actors, then judging them in gender categories makes no sense to me.

 

[skydog757]

Aliens (1986) I watched this for the first time since I saw it at the drive-in(!!) upon it's initial release. It was nice to be able to actually see the movie; the combination of outdoor light conditions and the fact that most of the film is shot in very dark environments left me with virtually no visuals ("What just happened, man?") The film itself holds up really well because of it's military flavor: I don't care how far into the future you go, Marines will always be Marines.

 

[Ticklishchap]

I chose my words very, very carefully. I wasn't commenting on the good or bad of PC, I was just making the observation that those who advocate for gender neutral titles also tend to be the same who don't think PC exists or is a driving force today.

Relevant to this thread though, if we are going to get rid of the actor / actresses nomenclature since everyone is just an actor, then the Oscars, IMHO, should do away with the best actress award and just give an Oscar to the best actor (or give two out a year to keep the award numbers the same) since they are always judging actors or actresses playing different roles from each other anyway. If they are all actors, then judging them in gender categories makes no sense to me.

I note that you used the word actress earlier in the thread, but then used comedian. ... This shows the inconsistency and confusion surrounding this issue and the way in which attempts to impose 'gender neutrality' can be carried to extremes.

My comment was also carefully worded, in the style of a 'discuss' question in an exam. Not everything about the Puritan tradition was negative. I was merely suggesting that Political Correctness arose from the same cultural roots and is based on the idea of the perfectibility of man - sorry humankind - and the importance of language as an instrument of reform.

That said, I like Gore Vidal's comment that the Puritans emigrated not because they were being oppressed in England and Holland but because they were not free enough to oppress others. ...

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ I am horribly inconsistent in my gender usage for titles as I simply don't care if we stay with the old way or move to the new way and my back and forth represents, IMHO, the current state of our general culture - which is a jumble of the old and new. I have read over things I've written and seen that I've referred to someone as an actress and actor in the same paragraph and it was not at all thought out or intentional.

I do have strong opinions on what is driving this and if it is logical or not, but that's the politics I'm going to avoid; from a practical point of view, I'll just go along with wherever society lands as, in truth, if we have gender specific titles or not - I don't care and don't think it will make a hoot of a difference.

I sense - in particularly from your comment, "I was merely suggesting that Political Correctness arose from the same cultural roots and is based on the idea of the perfectibility of man -" that we share similar political views, but I'll leave it there.

 

[Harp]

... I like Gore Vidal's comment that the Puritans emigrated not because they were being oppressed in England and Holland but because they were not free enough to oppress others. ...

"Like any oppressed people, they defined themselves by what offended them, which would give New England its gritty flavor and, it has been argued,
America its independence." Stacy Schiff, The Witches: Salem, 1692

This, of course, inevitably leads to Deflate Gate, the shame of all Boston; excepting Brahmins and various Cambridge denizens; all of whom are also indifferent
to the Red Sox; yet the Mayflower Compact itself is devoid of inane constitutional penumbra which would surface ominously in the Twentieth Century.
The question remains though: did Gore Vidal ever read William Buckley's God and Man at Yale?

 

[Touchofevil]

Channelling our inner Hemingway I see.

It was 4:24 this morning so you never know who or what you are going to get.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

Doctor Strange. Very, very, VERY good, with a few minor caveats and one more substantial complaint. (No spoilers below, I'll stay generic.)

Cumberbatch, Swinton, McAdams, and the rest of the cast are all excellent - once again, having outstanding actors elevates the material. The production design and effects work is suitably fantastic and mind-blowing. The changes made to get away from the now embarrassing oriental stereotypes of the original sixties stories (pilfered from Lost Horizon, Fu Manchu, The Shadow, Chandu the Magician, etc.) are all for the best. There are many less connections to the other Marvel Cinematic Universe films than usual, and that's good, because this one stakes out a whole other realm that abuts the Asgard of the Thor films, the Quantum Reality of Ant-Man, the space opera settings of Guardians of the Galaxy... but is very much its own unique thing.

My minor issues: Like several other Marvel films, there are pacing problems. As in the first Captain America and Thor films, the transition from zero to hero happens too fast. The ultimate arrival - and defeat - of the big villain also happens too quickly. (Like Thor, this film is too compressed and should be 15 minutes longer.) I think the film's opening (a battle between characters and weapons we don't understand at all yet) is an off-putting mistake, though once Cumberbatch appears it quickly rights itself. (He is GREAT... though his Strange has a way more developed sense of snarky humor than expected.) And there's way too much hand-held camerawork, a cheap trick to add unease.

My big complaint: This won't mean anything to newbies, but none of the sorcerers use those great Stan Lee-invented incantations that are the primary signature of Doctor Strange's magic! No Vapors of Valtorr, Crimson Bands of Cytorrak, Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, Seven Rings of Raggadorr, Name of the Eternal Vishanti, etc. It's all concentration and hand gestures, and the battles are far more physical, with less standing their ground and flinging spells at one another than I expected. (But you know, this is a moving picture, not a series of still poses, so I guess that makes sense. Still, I'm sorry we didn't get any of this great cheesy declaiming!)

But overall, this is a splendid adaptation of a tricky character/story, pulled off with tremendous skill and verve. As my friend Mark just said, "It was about the best Doctor Strange movie that could have been made."

Note: There are two post-credits sequences, one of which connects directly to one of next year's Marvel films.

PS- Julian, Doctor Strange has had the beard in appearances during the last twenty years. I wish they'd stuck with the original pencil moustache, if only to lessen the obvious comparison to Tony Stark. (Obnoxious, egocentric, snarky, brilliant man is brought low by a terrible injury, finds a mentor and his own humanity, and ends up a flying superhero with a glowing circle on his chest!)

The nit-picking fanboy in me wanted the original Ditko globes of light surrounding the hands of those incanting, rather than the current representation (I will not describe it for those who haven't seen it yet.) And yes, the pencil mustache was missed~

 

[Ticklishchap]

⇧ I am horribly inconsistent in my gender usage for titles as I simply don't care if we stay with the old way or move to the new way and my back and forth represents, IMHO, the current state of our general culture - which is a jumble of the old and new. I have read over things I've written and seen that I've referred to someone as an actress and actor in the same paragraph and it was not at all thought out or intentional.

I do have strong opinions on what is driving this and if it is logical or not, but that's the politics I'm going to avoid; from a practical point of view, I'll just go along with wherever society lands as, in truth, if we have gender specific titles or not - I don't care and don't think it will make a hoot of a difference.

I sense - in particularly from your comment, "I was merely suggesting that Political Correctness arose from the same cultural roots and is based on the idea of the perfectibility of man -" that we share similar political views, but I'll leave it there.

It's great that we have a similar outlook. Like you I don't much care about moving back and forth in gender usage for titles: I say actress but I don't say sculptress or poetess, for instance. What I don't like is to be told that I 'have to' or 'ought to' express myself according to whatever nostrums are at a given moment politically correct. I like language to be flexible, because that is its strength.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Laid in bed watching Chaplin's "The Kid" at 6:15 in the morning. Jackie Coogan wasn't always Uncle Fester -- once he was the greatest child actor who ever lived. One of the all-time great performances.

 

[Ticklishchap]

"Like any oppressed people, they defined themselves by what offended them, which would give New England its gritty flavor and, it has been argued,
America its independence." Stacy Schiff, The Witches: Salem, 1692

This, of course, inevitably leads to Deflate Gate, the shame of all Boston; excepting Brahmins and various Cambridge denizens; all of whom are also indifferent
to the Red Sox; yet the Mayflower Compact itself is devoid of inane constitutional penumbra which would surface ominously in the Twentieth Century.
The question remains though: did Gore Vidal ever read William Buckley's God and Man at Yale?

I like this quote because it shows both sides of the question: the positive and negative of the Puritan ethos. Therefore it's real history rather than propaganda.
I have a feeling that there was a blazing schoolyard-style literary row between William Buckley and Gore Vidal on television in which Vidal called Buckley a fascist and Buckley called Vidal a f*g. Sounds a bit like some of the recent political debates on both sides of the Pond. ...

 

[Doctor Strange]

Laid in bed watching Chaplin's "The Kid" at 6:15 in the morning. Jackie Coogan wasn't always Uncle Fester -- once he was the greatest child actor who ever lived. One of the all-time great performances.

The Kid is wonderful, and Coogan is fantastic. I defy anyone to not tear up at the scene when the child protection guys try to take Jackie away from Charlie!

 

[green papaya]

Take the high ground 1953 starring Richard Widmark

sergeant Thorne Ryan fought bravely in the Korean War, and now he does his part by taking new recruits through basic training in the southern United States. A drill sergeant has to be fierce and hated by his trainees, but is Ryan the monster he is thought to be?

 

[Stearmen]

Decision Against Time (1957) In the UK it was titled Man In The Sky. The funny part was, they were testing a new cargo plane, a Bristol 170 Freighter, which in actuality had already been in service for a decade!

 

[ChiTownScion]

Take the high ground 1953 starring Richard Widmark

sergeant Thorne Ryan fought bravely in the Korean War, and now he does his part by taking new recruits through basic training in the southern United States. A drill sergeant has to be fierce and hated by his trainees, but is Ryan the monster he is thought to be?

Looks like an earlier Army version of Jack Webb's, "The D. I."