Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

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The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)

I enjoyed every single minute of this film! And I rarely feel that way about any movie. I'd seen this only once before, back when it first came out on DVD. I remember loving it then. So much so that I told a couple people about it, who then watched it and also loved it, which is pretty amazing in itself.

The King's Speech is right up my alley for movie subjects. It's historical, it's biographical and it's about the British royal family. I've seen a lot of movies about the British monarchy and this tale of King George VI struggles with stuttering, was both illuminating from a historical viewpoint and quite entertaining in a heartfelt way. I actually laughed a number of times, no not at the stuttering, but at the clever witticisms that Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) blurted out to Colin Firth who played King George VI.

Geoffrey Rush was spot on with his role as the unconventional Australian speech therapist. He brought life and energy to the role and made a good film great. And Colin Firth made a good Prince Albert/King George VI too, he brought dignity and frustration. The frustration is what he felt by having the crown thrust upon him when his older brother who had been the King abdicated to marry an American divorcee.

I loved the look of the film, especially the funky room they spent a lot of time in...shown in the screen shot above. Glad to have rewatched this gem of a film.

There is a tv show series on Prime (I think) called "Million Dollar American Princesses" and it is talking about how the self-made upper crust of New York and New Jersey sought English Lords for their eligible daughters. The Lords needed money to save their estate and the fathers had their marriage-age daughter and high dollar dowries to broker a title in the family. They were talking about Wallace Simpson and King Edward the 8th. It reminded me of this film when he abdicated his crown.

I did enjoy this film as well when I first saw it.

And what woman my age doesn't mind looking at Colin Firth throughout a film.



There is a tv show series on Prime (I think) called "Million Dollar American Princesses" and it is talking about how the self-made upper crust of New York and New Jersey sought English Lords for their eligible daughters. The Lords needed money to save their estate and the fathers had their marriage-age daughter and high dollar dowries to broker a title in the family. They were talking about Wallace Simpson and King Edward the 8th. It reminded me of this film when he abdicated his crown.

I did enjoy this film as well when I first saw it.

And what woman my age doesn't mind looking at Colin Firth throughout a film.
That sounds like an interesting show, I don't have Prime but might be able to check it out one day. I do like stuff about the Royals, and I've seen a number of movies and documentary on them.



That sounds like an interesting show, I don't have Prime but might be able to check it out one day. I do like stuff about the Royals, and I've seen a number of movies and documentary on them.
It was hosted by Elizabeth McGovern.... She played Lady Grantham on Downton Abbey, which was an American heiress marrying a Lord to gain a title in exchange for a high dowery.




American Beauty (Sam Mendes 1999)


It's all about obsession! Am I right?


That's how I see American Beauty, it's about obsession and how it manifest itself in different people. Carolyn (Annette Bening) has gone nuts over obsessing over the 'good life'. She has a $4000 couch with Italian silk fabric, and it's ugly! But she doesn't care, she's obsessed to have it all...an in doing so she's forgotten the care free girl that she once was back in college.

Their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is obsessed with breast augmentation, though they looked plenty big to me. She's been saving her money since she first started baby sitting, probably when she didn't even have any breast and now that's she grown she doesn't realize they've grown too. That's obsession.

Her friend Angela (Mena Suvari) is bonkers obsessed with not being ordinary. She goes to great links to make herself out as a bold, daring, sex crazed girl...and yet in the end she's a virgin who just talked real big.

Then there's the guy next door Ricky (Wes Bently) with the camera. OK he's obsessed with capturing moments of beauty on film. Even if it's a dead bird, he's obsessed to capture those fleeting moments and save them. That's why he has a wall of shelves in his room, for all those videos he's made and saved.

Then there's his dad the marine dude (Chris Cooper) he's obsessed with control and maybe obsessed with being or not being gay.

Well, what about Kevin Spacey, He doesn't seem obsessed, in fact he's utterly complaisant, a doormat with a vacant smile on his face. His highlight is jerking off in the shower. That's it, that's all he's got to look forward to. He's the only one who's not obsessed. Through his character we see how being true to one's inner self, is so much better than being obsessed about stuff that doesn't even matter.

Of course other people's obsessions effect him and that's why he's dead.

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Nice to see this thread back, CR!

I have to say I'm in full agreement with your latest reviews!

Platoon - Indeed about as close to you get to a perfect film.
I first saw it in the theater and was deeply disturbed by parts of it. When a film leaves you with a lot of powerful emotions that means it accomplished its task.

The King's Speech - I wouldn't say this about most movies, but I absolutely fell in love with this one (which is different from just saying I loved it). I think it's because I heard such negative reviews about it before I saw it: "slow as molasses," "like watching paint dry," "I fell asleep," "only appealing to erudite intellectuals or snobbish history buffs," etc.
I would also call this a perfect film for the type of film it is. I never found it boring or slow in the least. A wonderful period peace, masterfully acted, and truly inspirational: a story of overcoming obstacles and true friendship.

American Beauty - I only saw this once (I guess close to 20 years ago.)
But I remember being very intrigued by it and enjoying it quite a lot.
This is one I'd really like to see again because I've forgotten much of it.




The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)

I enjoyed every single minute of this film! And I rarely feel that way about any movie. I'd seen this only once before, back when it first came out on DVD. I remember loving it then. So much so that I told a couple people about it, who then watched it and also loved it, which is pretty amazing in itself.

The King's Speech is right up my alley for movie subjects. It's historical, it's biographical and it's about the British royal family. I've seen a lot of movies about the British monarchy and this tale of King George VI struggles with stuttering, was both illuminating from a historical viewpoint and quite entertaining in a heartfelt way. I actually laughed a number of times, no not at the stuttering, but at the clever witticisms that Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) blurted out to Colin Firth who played King George VI.

Geoffrey Rush was spot on with his role as the unconventional Australian speech therapist. He brought life and energy to the role and made a good film great. And Colin Firth made a good Prince Albert/King George VI too, he brought dignity and frustration. The frustration is what he felt by having the crown thrust upon him when his older brother who had been the King abdicated to marry an American divorcee.

I loved the look of the film, especially the funky room they spent a lot of time in...shown in the screen shot above. Glad to have rewatched this gem of a film.

So glad you like this movie as much as I do. I rated it the same you did.



Nice to see this thread back, CR!

I have to say I'm in full agreement with your latest reviews!

Platoon - Indeed about as close to you get to a perfect film.
I first saw it in the theater and was deeply disturbed by parts of it. When a film leaves you with a lot of powerful emotions that means it accomplished its task.

The King's Speech - I wouldn't say this about most movies, but I absolutely fell in love with this one (which is different from just saying I loved it). I think it's because I heard such negative reviews about it before I saw it: "slow as molasses," "like watching paint dry," "I fell asleep," "only appealing to erudite intellectuals or snobbish history buffs," etc.
I would also call this a perfect film for the type of film it is. I never found it boring or slow in the least. A wonderful period peace, masterfully acted, and truly inspirational: a story of overcoming obstacles and true friendship.

American Beauty - I only saw this once (I guess close to 20 years ago.)
But I remember being very intrigued by it and enjoying it quite a lot.
This is one I'd really like to see again because I've forgotten much of it.
I'm back, like a seasonal beer You should watch American Beauty again, at least for me I related more to it the second time around as I was older.




Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood 1992)

Solid western from one of the legends of western movies...Clint Eastwood. Eastwood's laconic performance fits the character William Munny to a tee. Munny is, as we would image him to be...a coiled viper reformed by the love of a good woman, and without her guiding hand he's a man who could once again do great violence. Munny is a complex character, he's neither pure evil nor purely good, he's a man down on his luck and willing to do a dirty job for a few bucks.



And let's not forget the other powerful actor in this movie, Gene Hackman as Little Bill Daggart. Little Bill is outwardly a bully and yet we can see that he's also a decent man, just wanting to finish building his house. This is 180 degrees from William 'Bill' Munny who outwardly is a hardened killer, but we see that inside him is a good person. Both men are two sides to the same coin. They're juxtaposed and yet one in the same.



I think the real star here is Eastwood the director. As a director, Eastwood employs the same no-frills, well honed and laconic style of film making that made him famous as an actor. The actor is the director and the film is highly focused with nary a misstep, but a couple of misfires. The film takes the myth of the old west, a myth that Eastwood himself helped to make, and deconstructs that myth and shows it to be mostly the stuff of idle talk that turned into folk legend. And the misfire of a gun is used to demonstrate that in a gunfight it's not about a quick draw but about a cool head and luck. And nothing is more unlucky than a misfire in a gunfight.

I reckoned Unforgiven would be the number one movie in the Western Countdown, and it was.

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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

Platoon (Oliver Stone 1986)

I would rate this at
or maybe even higher.

I'm not much of a fan of war movies, but I watched Platoon when it was nominated in a recent HoF, and I thought it was one of the better war movies that I've seen. It was so intense that I almost forgot that I was watching a movie. I haven't seen Charlie Sheen in much outside of his comedies, so it was a nice change of pace to see him in a movie where he actually got to do some real acting.
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OPEN FLOOR.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)


The King's Speech is another movie that I watched when it was nominated in a HoF, and while I thought it was a good movie, for me, it was mostly just forgettable. I remember liking the movie, but I barely remember most of it.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

American Beauty (Sam Mendes 1999)

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I saw American Beauty back when it was in the theater, but that was so long ago that I don't remember a lot about it. I remember thinking that it was a good movie, and I even bought the DVD, but I haven't gotten around to rewatching it.

It's a shame because I was always a fan of Kevin Spacey, but now it's less likely that I ever rewatch it. (Although recent events haven't stopped me from watching some of his other movies, so maybe I'll get around to rewatching it eventually.)



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
American Beauty is one of those movies that was loved when it first came out and now it is popular to hate on it. I feel like the same can be said for Titanic.

I love Titanic and I remember liking American Beauty. I could do with a revisit on it though.
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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



The King's Speech is another movie that I watched when it was nominated in a HoF, and while I thought it was a good movie, for me, it was mostly just forgettable. I remember liking the movie, but I barely remember most of it.
That's because there's no huge dramatic turn of events, like Titanic sinks and Rose makes it while Jack freezes in the water. I can't really remember the details of The King's Speech either, but then again I can't remember what I had for dinner last week.

I saw American Beauty back when it was in the theater, but that was so long ago that I don't remember a lot about it. I remember thinking that it was a good movie, and I even bought the DVD, but I haven't gotten around to rewatching it.

It's a shame because I was always a fan of Kevin Spacey, but now it's less likely that I ever rewatch it. (Although recent events haven't stopped me from watching some of his other movies, so maybe I'll get around to rewatching it eventually.)
I understand as a lot of MoFos have said they don't want to watch Kevin Spacey in a movie nowadays. Not me, I like Spacey as an actor and if anything his recent legal troubles made his character all the more poignant as he tries to seduce a high school girl in the movie.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
That's because there's no huge dramatic turn of events, like Titanic sinks and Rose makes it while Jack freezes in the water. I can't really remember the details of The King's Speech either, but then again I can't remember what I had for dinner last week.
I noticed today that one of my mom's DVDs was The King's Speech, so I might decide to keep it so I can rewatch it someday.


I understand as a lot of MoFos have said they don't want to watch Kevin Spacey in a movie nowadays. Not me, I like Spacey as an actor and if anything his recent legal troubles made his character all the more poignant as he tries to seduce a high school girl in the movie.
I still like Kevin Spacey as an actor too, but I think his character might feel a bit too "realistic" in American Beauty. But that's not necessarily enough to stop me from watching the movie again.

In fact, I recently watched a Spacey movie called Nine Lives, and I loved it. It has a terrible rating on IMDB, but I thought it was hilarious. (Surprisingly, I thought Hubby was going to think it was stupid, but he loved it too.)



I noticed today that one of my mom's DVDs was The King's Speech, so I might decide to keep it so I can rewatch it someday.




I still like Kevin Spacey as an actor too, but I think his character might feel a bit too "realistic" in American Beauty. But that's not necessarily enough to stop me from watching the movie again.

In fact, I recently watched a Spacey movie called Nine Lives, and I loved it. It has a terrible rating on IMDB, but I thought it was hilarious. (Surprisingly, I thought Hubby was going to think it was stupid, but he loved it too.)
GBG, have you ever seen KPAX (2001) with Spacey?



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
GBG, have you ever seen KPAX (2001) with Spacey?

Yes, I've seen K-PAX, but it's been a while since I saw it. I remember liking it, and being surprised at how many of the reviews didn't like it. (It's another movie that I have the DVD, but I haven't gotten around to rewatching it yet.)




Ex Machina (2015)
Director: Alex Garland
Writer: Alex Garland
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Length: 108 minutes
Indie Film


Synopsis (spoiler free):
Caleb, a young programmer wiz, wins a competition at his internet company to spend one week at a remote mountain retreat belonging to the CEO of the company he works for. He finds Nathan, the reclusive CEO, to be an enigmatic genius, with a dark side. Caleb then finds he's the crucial element in a ground breaking experiment in artificial intelligence. Enter Ava, who's the beautiful and very human like machine, Ava's self awareness is being tested.


Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander and Domhnall Gleesonmake up the primary cast.

Ex Machina
is not at all a sci-fi film in the typical sense. Oh sure that poster looks as sci fi as you can get but the film's focus is on drama, mystery and even romance....It focuses on three individuals who are alone in a remote country setting. But beyond that this is an existential film that explores what it means to be a human and and what it means to be sentient. A story about when is it wrong to treat a creation as property.

The film requires that the viewer cares about the A.I. creation 'Ava' and feels for her plight. If you only view her as an 'it', or as a machine then the movie failed. But I bet anyone who watches this will care about Ava and view her as alive. I did



Ex Machina is an intimately shot, Indie film. It takes a close up look at three people with a minimum of outside influences. This allows the film to focus on the implications of creating a sentient A.I. machine.



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I finally saw this!

When trying to lower the cable bill, we ended up with a couple movie channels and this was in the OnDemand menu! So I was excited that a film I had really wanted to see was available.

While watching it, a lot of other things came to mind - the topic of A.I. is nothing new and I'm not going to call the movie derivative, but throughout, it reminded me of several other movies & TV shows:

Star Trek TNG - the topic of A.I. has probably been most thoroughly explored via Commander Data in ST-TNG and the series' subsequent movies.

The Terminator (1984 - 2019) movies as well and the movie A.I. (2001) have made extensive warnings and commentary on A.I. development.

Solaris (1972 & 2002): The cinematography, scene changes, background music and mood reminded me a lot of Solaris (both versions) - and since Solaris had some things in common with 2001: A Space Oddessy (1968) - another movie with some exploration of A.I. and it's potential hazards - some aspects reminded me of that also.

The Simpsons:
WARNING: "Behind the Laughter" spoilers below
The episode "You Only Move Twice" - where Homer goes to work for a James-Bond-type villain. The similarities are obvious as Ex Machina has the audience suspicious of Nathan as potentially being that kind of villain from the start. The relationship between the Caleb & Nathan reminded me of that between Homer and his new boss in that Simpsons episode.


Mad Monster Party? (1967):
WARNING: "Almost too similar?" spoilers below
This may be a bit off the wall: but it seems to occur to everyone that Kyoko may be an android which turns out to be right. But at one point I started to think that maybe Caleb is also an android who's being tested - this is a similar plot to the reveal in the children's animation flick Mad Monster Party? - when toward the end, Francesca is revealed to be an android, but the big twist at the very end is when Felix (the protagonist) is also revealed to be an android! Right as I was drawing this similarity while watching Ex Machina, it seemed the protagonist, Caleb, was having the very same thought! Maybe he was remembering the Rankin Bass classic monster movie just like I was... So he began to cut his arm to see if maybe he was also an android... turned out, unlike Felix Flankin, he wasn't!


Overall, I thought a more prominent message in this movie wasn't so much the A.I. but...
WARNING: "Who's watching who?" spoilers below
the warning about technological surveillance and the way surveillance can be used for information gathering, spying and manipulation - if Nathan could do all that he did via surveillance, then think what the government (or people like Nathan in real life such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos) could do.


This can be added to our list of pretty cool "Cerebral Sci-Fi Films."



I finally saw this!

When trying to lower the cable bill, we ended up with a couple movie channels and this was in the OnDemand menu! So I was excited that a film I had really wanted to see was available.

This can be added to our list of pretty cool "Cerebral Sci-Fi Films."
So cool that you got to see this! Ex-Machina created quite the buzz when it first came out. I haven't seen it since but it was a memorable sci fi and I enjoyed it.

I guess it fits into the "Cerebral Sci-Fi Films", though it's no Passengers I could see some of the similartieds to other films that you mentioned. Mostly it reminds of Solaris where a lovely & apparently helpless female alien has an emotional connection to the human male protagonist. Especially the fragility of the female alien who seems to be in need of rescue from the human male.

Have you seen any other sci fi films lately? BTW thanks! for posting on my old and forgotten thread I was just thumbing threw it this morning and seen all the fun convos we all had here.



So cool that you got to see this! Ex-Machina created quite the buzz when it first came out. I haven't seen it since but it was a memorable sci fi and I enjoyed it.

I guess it fits into the "Cerebral Sci-Fi Films", though it's no Passengers I could see some of the similartieds to other films that you mentioned. Mostly it reminds of Solaris where a lovely & apparently helpless female alien has an emotional connection to the human male protagonist. Especially the fragility of the female alien who seems to be in need of rescue from the human male.

Have you seen any other sci fi films lately? BTW thanks! for posting on my old and forgotten thread I was just thumbing threw it this morning and seen all the fun convos we all had here.
It reminded me most of Solaris in the music and the way it was shot (very similar in the moods and atmospheres it created - whether quiet or with building tension) even the way it segued between scenes was very similar to aspects in both versions of Solaris. (I even caught one segue with a close-up on plants outside the "lab".)

I was thinking about Passengers today and evaluating if it is an entirely cerebral sci-fi film. It's most definitely cerebral, but although it doesn't have aliens or laser gun fights, it still has a lot of action and thrills (especially in the second half) and spectacular special outer space effects that I'd say it's 3/4 cerebral and at least 1/4 sci-fi action!

(Whereas Ex Machina was almost 98% cerebral, Solaris about 90% cerebral and Moon maybe 80% cerebral - with the remaining percents equaling sci-fi action, thrills, effects, etc.)

Now I'm measuring levels of cerebrality in sci-fi films!