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Sleepy Hollow 4/10



Victim of The Night
On the subject of De Palma, what do you think about Scarface, by the way?
Not my jam.
I liked it when I was younger but when I tried to watch it as an adult it came across as unintentionally silly to me.
I need to revisit it because it's been a decade now. I find I feel differently about movies in different decades (of my life).



On the subject of De Palma, what do you think about Scarface, by the way?
It ****ing rules, that's what I think.



It's coke bloat, like Charlie Sheen in The Arrival.


"Nothing exceeds like excess."



Such a silly movie.
Buh? It's one of my go to Halloween movies. I like the whole look of it.



Casualties of War and Carlito’s Way.

Both great, with Carlito being maybe in his top 5.


But I will take nearly anything by DePalma. Ive seen very few I don't love or at least like a lot.


Even one of his worst movies, Hi Mom, has a movie within a movie (Be Black Baby) that is one of the best things he's ever done.


You almost can't lose with him.



Even one of his worst movies, Hi Mom
Nah, dawg, that movie is so funny, except when it gets really disturbing, and then circles back to being so funny.



Nah, dawg, that movie is so funny, except when it gets really disturbing, and then circles back to being so funny.

I don't remember it that way....but it's also possible I'm thinking of Greetings as being particularly bland.


But I still wasn't terribly into Hi Mom


Murder a La Mode on the other hand....*chefs kiss*



Seen and loved All the President's Men, I think I posted my brief impressions on here. Great movie.

I really need to see the Conversation again to refresh my memory, haven't seen that movie in ages.
All the President's Men was a good picture, mostly because of the tension and urgency that it created in the pair's sleuthing. Redford and Hoffman were a good team, and there was an excellent supporting cast (Robarts, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam).

The story had been such big news that many people wanted to see it just to understand what happened. The Post wanted to be that film, but they failed miserably.

I think The Conversation is one of the great films, and one of my handful of 10/10s. Everything clicked on that picture, and the story itself is still timely. Hackman was impeccable, along with the rest of the cast. And the haunting piano score by David Shire is simple but unforgettable. A great mystery with an existential ending.



I don't remember it that way....but it's also possible I'm thinking of Greetings as being particularly bland.


But I still wasn't terribly into Hi Mom


Murder a La Mode on the other hand....*chefs kiss*
Rock is correct about Hi Mom. You are correct about Greetings and Murder A La Mode.

MKS had spoken.



I forgot the opening line.

By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60344684

Shazam! - (2019)

I have to confess, I'm not fully into comic book films. I have no idea of the makeup of the DC and Marvel universes, and only a general idea of which characters fit into which one (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman are DC - Iron Man, The Hulk, Spiderman are Marvel - that's the best I can do.) Growing up, I was never into comic books - and that's what really separates me from a group of my friends that are middle-aged yet still into the whole scene. I found that by reading text-only books my imagination could run wild, while reading comics took most of that away from me by showing me everything. This was a much longer, and more rambling, preamble than I envisaged - so I'll just add here that I regularly get invited out to go to the movies, and 70% of the time it's to some new DC or Marvel movie which means I mostly say no, and usually say yes to a non-comic book film. There are exceptions, such as Watchmen and Man of Steel - but as you can infer by the age of those titles, I rarely do.

I know that there is a Shazam, and that's it - I recognize the outfit, but know nothing of the lore (I now know he's DC.) Watching his origin story last night was good enough entertainment, and I especially liked Zachary Levi's comedic performance - he has to act like he's actually 14-years-old inside, and does it so very well. This is because a young boy - Billy Batson (Asher Angel) - transforms into the adult superhero every time he says "shazam", which is a really novel idea for a crowded and sometimes derivative field of characters crowding the market. I wouldn't say it's hilarious, but it's definitely a funny movie with a nice little twist at the end (for those who know nothing of Shazam - and are dull enough, like me, to not see it coming) and a decent (again, not mind-blowing) villain, who commands seven monsters relating to the 7 deadly sins. While not going out of my way, I'd definitely catch the sequel to this eye-catching, fun superhero film.

7/10
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Remember - everything has an ending except hope, and sausages - they have two.
We miss you Takoma

Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)





Departures, 2008

Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) is a cellist whose orchestra is unceremoniously disbanded. Needing work, he responds to an ad about a job in "departures," only to discover that he has taken a position in a firm that provides body preparation services for bereaved families. Under the tutelage of his boss, Ikuei (Tsutomu Yamazaki), Daigo learns the rituals and people skills required in the unique line of work.

This was such a lovely film.

The very first scene, to be honest, had me a little worried at first. Preparing a body, Daigo is cleaning the young woman in front of her gathered loved ones when he discovers that she has male genitals. But instead of being some sort of transphobic, "ew a penis" joke, we see how Ikuei smoothly and respectfully finishes cleaning the body and then confers with the family about the final preparations of their child. What at first seems like a throwaway bit of wacky comedy actually comes back later in the film as part of a theme regarding the relationship between parents and children.

In fact, the brilliance of this film is that there are no throwaway moments. Even aspects of the film that seem to be there just for a quick laugh later find resonance. It's all connected in a way that is funny and devastating and beautiful.

Daigo doesn't start the film in any way as a hard-hearted person. One of the very first scenes involves him and his wife discovering that an octopus they bought for dinner is still alive and trying to release it into the wild. From the beginning he has empathy. But working with the dead and, by extension, the living, gives him an insight in to the passions and agonies of the people around him. The lessons he learns are mainly about the relationship between different generations--parents, children, grandchildren. He watches how different families cope with loss: anger, sorrow, gratitude. A touch that I loved in the film was the way that Daigo always looked at the photographs of the deceased people. The photos telling a lot about how their families choose to remember them. (I thought it was beyond powerful that the family from the opening scene chose a picture of their child as female presenting).

Underneath all of Daigo's experiences is the hurt he still feels about his father's abandonment of their family when he was a child. Daigo over and over witnesses moments of closure, and through his work he is able to work toward his own emotional peace.

I thought that the performances were all really solid, from the leads to the smaller roles of the grieving families.

And while this is a "your mileage may vary" element, I really love the sound the cello, and very much enjoyed the few sequences we got (including one very long segment) of Daigo playing the instrument.

Just all in all a really lovely movie. I took no issues with it and would highly recommend it.




Agreed. It's silly, but it knows it's silly.
Yep. That running gag with Depp being so fastidious and squeamish and then him constantly spattered with blood and gore is hilarious. I think Depp's portrayal really elevated the movie.




By IMDb, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60344684

Shazam! - (2019)

I have to confess, I'm not fully into comic book films. I have no idea of the makeup of the DC and Marvel universes, and only a general idea of which characters fit into which one (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman are DC - Iron Man, The Hulk, Spiderman are Marvel - that's the best I can do.) Growing up, I was never into comic books - and that's what really separates me from a group of my friends that are middle-aged yet still into the whole scene. I found that by reading text-only books my imagination could run wild, while reading comics took most of that away from me by showing me everything. This was a much longer, and more rambling, preamble than I envisaged - so I'll just add here that I regularly get invited out to go to the movies, and 70% of the time it's to some new DC or Marvel movie which means I mostly say no, and usually say yes to a non-comic book film. There are exceptions, such as Watchmen and Man of Steel - but as you can infer by the age of those titles, I rarely do.

I know that there is a Shazam, and that's it - I recognize the outfit, but know nothing of the lore (I now know he's DC.) Watching his origin story last night was good enough entertainment, and I especially liked Zachary Levi's comedic performance - he has to act like he's actually 14-years-old inside, and does it so very well. This is because a young boy - Billy Batson (Asher Angel) - transforms into the adult superhero every time he says "shazam", which is a really novel idea for a crowded and sometimes derivative field of characters crowding the market. I wouldn't say it's hilarious, but it's definitely a funny movie with a nice little twist at the end (for those who know nothing of Shazam - and are dull enough, like me, to not see it coming) and a decent (again, not mind-blowing) villain, who commands seven monsters relating to the 7 deadly sins. While not going out of my way, I'd definitely catch the sequel to this eye-catching, fun superhero film.

7/10
While enjoyed Sandberg’s direction and Levi’s performance, the script was too unsteady for me find myself too taken with it. My biggest issue is simple: Levi as Captain Marvel is nothing like Billy Batson. That kid is broody and obnoxious. Had Billy actually been like Levi’s performance, he would’ve been a more likable protagonist and it would’ve sold the gimmick, kid appearing as a grown adult super hero ala Big.

If the pieces matched, I would’ve had exponentially more fun with it.



I forgot the opening line.
While enjoyed Sandberg’s direction and Levi’s performance, the script was too unsteady for me find myself too taken with it. My biggest issue is simple: Levi as Captain Marvel is nothing like Billy Batson. That kid is broody and obnoxious. Had Billy actually been like Levi’s performance, he would’ve been a more likable protagonist and it would’ve sold the gimmick, kid appearing as a grown adult super hero ala Big.

If the pieces matched, I would’ve had exponentially more fun with it.
You've got a strong point there. Asher Angel and Zachary Levi's parts and performances didn't match, but they were supposed to be one and the same person. The only stretch I could apply to overlook it is that it felt a lot different to be a superhero and that affected the character's personality.