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Movies
Sept 2, 2017 17:23:02 GMT -5
Post by zendancer on Sept 2, 2017 17:23:02 GMT -5
"Maudie" was a very good film this summer based on a true story about a folk artist. Sally Hawkins deserves an Oscar for her performance, but it was low-budget, so probably not much chance of that. "Dunkirk" was realistic, but it didn't include enough of the historical backstory to give it sufficient context. "The Big Sick" was a very good recent film about a Muslim comedian's romance with a non-Muslim girl and the cultural consequences of that relationship. Both funny and poignant.
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Movies
Dec 23, 2017 14:41:15 GMT -5
Post by stardustpilgrim on Dec 23, 2017 14:41:15 GMT -5
Saw Darkest Hour today, about the first days and weeks of Winston Churchill being Prime Minister of GB in May 1940. Very good, very moving, Gary O will win Oscar and Golden Globe and more. {Just read previous post. Dunkirk plays a pivotal role in Darkest Hour (things evolve that way, WC and GB are literally pinned to the wall). From what ZD said, more of the background of Dunkirk may be given in Darkest Hour than Dunkirk itself. If this is so (haven't seen it), then ~what's his name~, (Nolan) really messed up. Dunkirk gave BG a chance to fight Hitler).
Some weeks or months ago saw Lucky with Harry Dean Stanton playing 90-ish Lucky, planned to mention it...didn't.... He's very healthy, lives in a small town in the Southwest (maybe NM, I forget). It's about how even at 90 one is not too old to change, and can even make new friends. Very subtle (it's essentially about his "spiritual" journey, or just life journey...)... One very particular memorable moving courageous [singing] scene.
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Post by ouroboros on Dec 23, 2017 15:48:44 GMT -5
I have a movie recommendation, it's called 'The Man From Earth'. I watched it a few years ago now, it's a low budget indie film, and I remember thinking it incorporated a number of topics that come up un the forum from time to time. There's no action to speak of, it's basically an entirely dialogue based film, which mostly consists of a group of people sitting in a room talking about stuff. As such I'm sure it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but might be worth a watch if you're scratching about for something to watch. I found it quite thought provoking. Have a good holiday everyone.
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Movies
Dec 24, 2017 9:22:16 GMT -5
Post by zendancer on Dec 24, 2017 9:22:16 GMT -5
Saw Darkest Hour today, about the first days and weeks of Winston Churchill being Prime Minister of GB in May 1940. Very good, very moving, Gary O will win Oscar and Golden Globe and more. {Just read previous post. Dunkirk plays a pivotal role in Darkest Hour (things evolve that way, WC and GB are literally pinned to the wall). From what ZD said, more of the background of Dunkirk may be given in Darkest Hour than Dunkirk itself. If this is so (haven't seen it), then ~what's his name~, (Nolan) really messed up. Dunkirk gave BG a chance to fight Hitler). Some weeks or months ago saw Lucky with Harry Dean Stanton playing 90-ish Lucky, planned to mention it...didn't.... He's very healthy, lives in a small town in the Southwest (maybe NM, I forget). It's about how even at 90 one is not too old to change, and can even make new friends. Very subtle (it's essentially about his "spiritual" journey, or just life journey...)... One very particular memorable moving courageous [singing] scene. We're looking forward to seeing "Darkest Hour," "The Post," and several other movies in the next few weeks. Probably the best movie of 2017 was "Lady Bird," but there were many other good ones--Columbus, Paterson, The Florida Project, etc. We, too, enjoyed "Lucky," and also the David Lynch documentary about Harry Dean Stanton titled "Harry Dean Stanton." Ironically, Stanton died a day or so after we saw the movie. He was a very Zen-like character, and in real life was very much like the guy he portrayed in "Lucky."
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Movies
Dec 25, 2017 12:42:19 GMT -5
Post by someNOTHING! on Dec 25, 2017 12:42:19 GMT -5
Not a movie, but a video of Yuval Hariri, whose book, "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind", actually does go into deep discussion on how "imagined reality/belief" has played a huge part in our history as a species. Doesn't really get into the ND of it all, but what is pointed to definitely fits into our discussions. Fascinating read and full of pretty interesting twists, nonetheless. Just passing video along as an intro for anyone interested.
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Dec 25, 2017 14:28:25 GMT -5
Post by explorer on Dec 25, 2017 14:28:25 GMT -5
There is a sequel to "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari called "Home Deus" (which I bought myself for a Christmas read!) It's always interesting to read writers with a wide sweep of understanding. I have only just started it but he writes interestingly about happiness, exploring how happiness does not seem to increase necessarily with increased prosperity. From the perspective of people who come to this site I guess that is obvious. Probably the book will not be talking about Liberation from the ego (which is the most interesting and rewarding of phenomena) despite chapter 10 being called "the Ocean of Consciousness." To me it is fascinating and sad that a brilliant mind such as his has such a fine grasp of psychology, sociology, economics, philosophy and history, and yet does not seem to realise that there is a whole world of experience and understanding beyond the material world. Well there we are! Happy Christmas everyone.
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Dec 25, 2017 14:29:48 GMT -5
Post by explorer on Dec 25, 2017 14:29:48 GMT -5
Oops... the title of that book is H o m o Deus!
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Dec 27, 2017 11:32:46 GMT -5
Post by stardustpilgrim on Dec 27, 2017 11:32:46 GMT -5
Saw Darkest Hour today, about the first days and weeks of Winston Churchill being Prime Minister of GB in May 1940. Very good, very moving, Gary O will win Oscar and Golden Globe and more. {Just read previous post. Dunkirk plays a pivotal role in Darkest Hour (things evolve that way, WC and GB are literally pinned to the wall). From what ZD said, more of the background of Dunkirk may be given in Darkest Hour than Dunkirk itself. If this is so (haven't seen it), then ~what's his name~, (Nolan) really messed up. Dunkirk gave BG a chance to fight Hitler). Some weeks or months ago saw Lucky with Harry Dean Stanton playing 90-ish Lucky, planned to mention it...didn't.... He's very healthy, lives in a small town in the Southwest (maybe NM, I forget). It's about how even at 90 one is not too old to change, and can even make new friends. Very subtle (it's essentially about his "spiritual" journey, or just life journey...)... One very particular memorable moving courageous [singing] scene. We're looking forward to seeing "Darkest Hour," "The Post," and several other movies in the next few weeks. Probably the best movie of 2017 was "Lady Bird," but there were many other good ones--Columbus, Paterson, The Florida Project, etc. We, too, enjoyed "Lucky," and also the David Lynch documentary about Harry Dean Stanton titled "Harry Dean Stanton." Ironically, Stanton died a day or so after we saw the movie. He was a very Zen-like character, and in real life was very much like the guy he portrayed in "Lucky." Thanks for the Lady Bird recommendation, I've heard it's really good. I've seen a couple of her other films (actress/writer/director), this sounds like the best. I heard an interview with her on NPR, she said the movie is kind-of autobiographical, in relation with her mother, but exaggerated and stuff made-up. She said her mother likes it and understands the exaggerations...(she said she didn't really jump out of a moving car, she said it was a stopped car, and she just opened the door and got out). I didn't hear HDS died. Also saw Paterson, had high expectations. It started off slow, but I liked it more and more, very worth while. Also look forward to seeing The Post. ....Also saw Snowden on DVD (just a couple of months ago), liked it very much. I consider him more hero than traitor, very The Post/Pentagon Papers-like. Saw about 1/2 (the first) of the Ken Burns Vietnam documentary, that's about all I could take-in at the time, I will see it all again some day. It all makes me feel a planetary citizen instead of an American citizen, and will never ~trust~ the US government. ....I had a college deferment for two years, 70/71 and 71/72 thereabouts, and then in the first draft lottery was #360, whew...I remember I was working a summer job, out of town, coming back home was listening on the radio. I thought I was #260, felt pretty good about that, then later learned March 10 was the 260th # drawn, that I was actually #360, great relief.
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Movies
Mar 23, 2018 15:41:18 GMT -5
Post by stardustpilgrim on Mar 23, 2018 15:41:18 GMT -5
I saw The Glass Castle this week on DVD. Sorry I missed it at the theater, a very moving film. True story. (Maybe I'm not sorry, watched the interview with author Jeanette Walls and another extra, from memoir to movie, about the making of the film).
The film covers 25 years in the life of Jeanette Walls, who grew up in a dysfunctional family with two sisters and a brother. Father Rex is very smart, but has his own demons (I'd rather let the film unfold that). Mother (Mary I think I remember correctly) is an artist. 80 of her actual paintings are shown in the film. The family might have to leave in the middle of the night, for various reasons, they pack up what little they have, drive to a new location, basically anywhere across the country, find an abandoned house, usually no running water or electricity, squat there until a new misfortune occurs. The kids are "home schooled"...
The title comes from the dream house Rex is planning and drawing plans for.
Also watched the deleted scenes. Two (out of about ten) I couldn't believe were dropped, they significantly contribute to explaining the whole situation.
It's quite an amazing story. I'd say it goes to the top of the list as an existential film. See it, I can highly recommend it. Woody Harrelson plays Rex, Naomi Watts plays the Mother, Brie Larson plays Jeanette Walls from teenager on (she won the previous year as best actress for Room, also a very good movie). (At least three sets of kids play the four children growing up).
Another bonus, some pictures of the actual family during credits, with some home movies too.
Makes me now want to read the book.
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Apr 1, 2018 13:54:29 GMT -5
Post by laughter on Apr 1, 2018 13:54:29 GMT -5
Anyone who lived through the '70's knows how nihilistic pop culture got. 1977's "Opening Night" delivers a gritty and genuine feminist tract of hope without compromising on this. Rowlands and Cassevetes, like Burton and Taylor, were the actual "Mad Men" generation, and the movie explores some of the same themes as "Mad Men", but unconsciously, in the demonstration of them as they unfold, rather than as a wry retrospective, and this makes for tough viewing at times. But the payoff is there at the end. Seems to me that the Rowland/Cassevetes team (with a powerful assist by Blondell) delivered up a sort of template for the "2nd" careers of women like Streep, Mcdormand, Jean Smart, Kidman, Mimi Rogers, Madeline Stowe .. well, long list. There are two different currents of spiritual theme running through the film. One is overt and woo-woo about the appearance of ghosts, and the other was the basis for "Birdman", and is an expression of the existential movie metaphor.
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Apr 1, 2018 14:25:30 GMT -5
Post by laughter on Apr 1, 2018 14:25:30 GMT -5
"Maudie" was a very good film this summer based on a true story about a folk artist. Sally Hawkins deserves an Oscar for her performance, but it was low-budget, so probably not much chance of that. "Dunkirk" was realistic, but it didn't include enough of the historical backstory to give it sufficient context. "The Big Sick" was a very good recent film about a Muslim comedian's romance with a non-Muslim girl and the cultural consequences of that relationship. Both funny and poignant. British heroism.
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Apr 7, 2018 13:20:21 GMT -5
Post by zendancer on Apr 7, 2018 13:20:21 GMT -5
I'm such a Luddite that I only now discovered that our TV can stream movies via the internet without an Apple TV box! LOL. Consequently, the other night we watched our first movie via Amazon prime--"Where To Invade Next" by Michael Moore. Wow! The movie is very funny, very sad, very ironic, and also very poignant. I can highly recommend it to anyone with an open mind. Having read a great deal about the 2008 financial collapse, and how it played out in other countries, the segment on Iceland was particularly fascinating. I already knew the basic story of what happened there, but the movie revealed many aspects of the story not discussed in other books.
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Movies
May 31, 2018 22:06:02 GMT -5
Post by laughter on May 31, 2018 22:06:02 GMT -5
Let's a bunch of us collaborate on a script and shop it around tinsel town pitching Christian Bale for the role of Alan Watts.
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Post by stardustpilgrim on Sept 26, 2018 17:20:00 GMT -5
Just watched a most excellent film, Knight of Cups, 2015, by Terrence Malick. If you don't know Malick this will be the most unusual film you have ever seen. There's not much of a plot, none in any conventional sense. Christian Bale plays the lead character. He is a screenwriter in LA, the scenes, his relationships with women, his brother, their father, his face, evoke [are] his emotional and existential "journey". So it's hard to say what it's about. I will definitely have to see it again, and probably again. It's my favorite Malick film (he did The Thin Red Line which we have talked about here before), and I'd have to say in the top five of my all-time list. Bale does an excellent job in what had to have been a very challenging role, he virtually doesn't speak, he wears the role on his face.
I didn't know how it would start, but it begins with, I believe a Rabbi Nachman tale, Jewish nonetheless (this is not mentioned, I've just heard the tale before). A Prince comes from another realm, and becoming absorbed in the matters of fact and ins and outs of daily life, forgets *who he is*. .... Different segments are named after Tarot cards...
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Movies
Oct 28, 2018 13:53:55 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by stardustpilgrim on Oct 28, 2018 13:53:55 GMT -5
Saw Free Solo yesterday. Absolutely amazing. Free Solo climber (no ropes, no aids, one tiny slip you die) Alex Honnold makes attempt to free solo climb El Capitan, Yosemite, a dream/wish/desire he had for 8 years. Most of the film is about his preparation (and film crew) for the climb. One interesting part, he has an MRI of his brain, he has an exceptionally hugh fear threshold. If you are going to see the film, don't google what happened (and I don't want to give anything away).
Previously, most of his free solos were not announced in advance and not filmed.
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