Movie Thread

The Shape of Water is great. Funny how people can’t get over a love story between a creature and a mute girl, but somehow the story of surgically putting white people into black people doesn’t raise any eyebrows. (This is coming from someone who really enjoyed Get Out).

This year didn’t have a bonafide slam dunk Best Picture, but there were a ton of great A- movies.

I haven't seen The Shape of Water, mainly because I'm not a fan of Del Toro's style of story telling. I respect him, and his work, but it's not for me. But I think the core difference is that Del Toro's film isn't supposed to be horror while Get Out is.

Dunkirk was truly brilliant, but I didn't expect it to win because it wasn't auteur enough. It was a brutal film that wore you down, those films don't usually do well at the Oscars.
 
Least-viewed broadcast of the Oscars in history.

Expect to see that happen a whole lot. People cite the NFL's lack of viewership as a concern, but Verizon spent 2.5 billion dollars locking up exclusive mobile rights to the NFL, because people are streaming things now. Expect to see TV rating plummet.

There was a piece that Taylor Twelman did on MLS viewership. The future is in streaming. If you can monetize that, that's how you'll make money.
 
I think IPTV/OTT is the future of television media - but that doesn't mean TV ratings are outdated. The metrics we have right now are skewed, primarily because they do not naturally account for digital viewers, but they do offer bankable insight with respect to specific demographic groups and general interest.

Also, ad spends are much easier to calcuate/justify on streaming platforms than on traditional media.
 
The Shape of Water is great. Funny how people can’t get over a love story between a creature and a mute girl, but somehow the story of surgically putting white people into black people doesn’t raise any eyebrows. (This is coming from someone who really enjoyed Get Out).

This year didn’t have a bonafide slam dunk Best Picture, but there were a ton of great A- movies.

In other words, The Shape of Water is basically the original King Kong (with a happy ending). I just think the theme of The Shape of Water has been told and retold (sans sea creatures) so many times in cinematic history, that I don't see anything that special about that angle. Del Toro is a master of the visual, so I imagine it is resplendent in that respect.

I was partial to Dunkirk, but I was partial to Hidden Figures in 2017, so I'm used to being on the outside on Best Picture choices. I was happy to see Dunkirk nab a few technical awards (similar to Hacksaw Ridge in 2017). What del Toro is to visuals, Nolan is to technical excellence.
 
Cineworld (the company who bought regal last week) has an unlimited service which lets you see as many movies as you want, whenever you want. Although the cost for the service looks possibly twice that of moviepass, there’s no 24 hour wait between movies. I’d be anxious to see if Cineworld cuts moviepass out of their theatres to only sell their service.
 
Finally saw Black Panther and enjoyed it. Would have rather seen it on the big screen though. Maybe I will.
 
Game Night was a funny little romp. A little cutesy in the vein of the Carrell/Fey Date Night, but it's witty with a good script. A few twists-and-turns that you don't see coming. Jesse Plemons is flat-out awesome in a supporting role that is key to the story.
 
Watching Broken Arrow right now and thinking that this is clearly a horrible movie, but one that I would still give 4 out 5 stars. What horrible movies would you give the same rating? Some other ones for me are Eraser and The Mummy.
 
Watching Broken Arrow right now and thinking that this is clearly a horrible movie, but one that I would still give 4 out 5 stars. What horrible movies would you give the same rating? Some other ones for me are Eraser and The Mummy.

Great question. I’ll start with Con Air and Waterworld and no doubt think of more.
 
Watching Broken Arrow right now and thinking that this is clearly a horrible movie, but one that I would still give 4 out 5 stars. What horrible movies would you give the same rating? Some other ones for me are Eraser and The Mummy.

Over the Top and Super.

Though I don't think Super is a bad film. I just know it's pretty equally panned by critics and fan reviews. I think it's totally brilliant.
 
Con Air. Nice.

Showgirls is a personal favorite.

Paul Verhoeven is a largely uncredited master. Showgirls isn't one of my favorites of his, but I think it's a mistake not to read it in the context of his other films (high camp, deep cultural critique) when evaluating its merits; and I think, moreover, if David Lynch had directed the exact same film it'd be hailed as gritty haute camp masterpiece à la Twin Peaks (especially with Kyle MacLachlan's prominent role).
 
Paul Verhoeven is a largely uncredited master. Showgirls isn't one of my favorites of his, but I think it's a mistake not to read it in the context of his other films (high camp, deep cultural critique) when evaluating its merits; and I think, moreover, if David Lynch had directed the exact same film it'd be hailed as gritty haute camp masterpiece à la Twin Peaks (especially with Kyle MacLachlan's prominent role).

Agreed.

I actually watched Basic Instinct again the other night (it's on Prime right now) - hadn't realized he was behind it. Despite the camp (which, you are exactly right, is a common thread) he still managed to bring it home with riveting aplomb.

Total Recall and Robocop are two of my all-time favorites. Dystopian overtones comfort me.
 
Agreed.

I actually watched Basic Instinct again the other night (it's on Prime right now) - hadn't realized he was behind it. Despite the camp (which, you are exactly right, is a common thread) he still managed to bring it home with riveting aplomb.

Total Recall and Robocop are two of my all-time favorites. Dystopian overtones comfort me.

Still need to see Basic Instinct unedited and all the way through—I've caught bits on the teevees in the past. Been wanting to catch Elle since it's release, as well, and further bone-up on Verhoeven.

Just saw Robocop again for the dozenth-plus time, and the second time in-cinema, when I was back in Chicago a couple weeks ago. Not only holds up, but seems almost more on-the-nose now. And the little interstitial bits of culture—commercials, newscasts, I'd buy that for a dollar!—are magisterial touches. I'm a huge Starship Troopers fan, too, and for similar reasons.
 
Still need to see Basic Instinct unedited and all the way through—I've caught bits on the teevees in the past. Been wanting to catch Elle since it's release, as well, and further bone-up on Verhoeven.

Top 5 movie endings ever (Basic Instinct, that is).

Just saw Robocop again for the dozenth-plus time, and the second time in-cinema, when I was back in Chicago a couple weeks ago. Not only holds up, but seems almost more on-the-nose now. And the little interstitial bits of culture—commercials, newscasts, I'd buy that for a dollar!—are magisterial touches. I'm a huge Starship Troopers fan, too, and for similar reasons.

Man, I'd love to find it playing in a cinema.

Absolute yes to the bolded bit.


The logo for my consultancy is based off OCP.
 
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