Saturday Evening Movie Thread 12-07-2019 [Hosted By: Moviegique]

Tel Aviv On Fire

I have, in the past, noted the irony that Chinese films seem a lot less censored than those from Hollywood, and today I will note the irony that Israeli movies seem a lot less political. (This is true of Israeli movies, I will say, but absolutely not Palestinian movies. Palestinian movies—every one we've seen—framed blowing civilians up as a Good Thing, and indeed in many cases the only happy ending.) Case in point, Tel Aviv on Fire: a wacky comedy about a Palestinian soap opera writer who finds the fate of his soap opera characters—and the desires of people on either side of the wall regarding those fates—are tied to his own.

Maisa Abd Elhadi (Mariam) doubts I can stick this landing.

Our hero is Salam, a slacker we first meet as he tries to win back his ex-, Mariam. But as she points out, and he can't deny, he's just bumbling through life, and even the soap opera he's starting to work on—well, he just got the job because his uncle, the producer, needs someone with good Hebrew for his Arabic actors (who are playing Israelis). Their soap opera, "Tel Aviv on Fire", takes place on the eve of the Six-Day War, and the plot is that a Palestinian general sends his lover across the border to seduce and spy on (and ultimately kill, presumably) the Israeli General.

Salam helps out with some simple pronunciations but then immediately objects to a situation where the one of the generals compliments the heroine's beauty by saying "You look explosive." He earns the ire of the writer by objecting to that line but wins the favor of the French star, Tala. As tense as things are there, things really heat up for him when he's stopped at the border by a belligerent commander, Assi. Salam tries to smooth things out by claiming to write the show, and giving the commander some inside info.

Salam tries to keep it professional, but you know how actresses are.

Well, as it turns out Assi's wife is a huge fan of the show, as are her girlfriends, and Assi is rather annoyed by her enchantment with the Palestinian general. "He's a terrorist!" Assi exclaims in exasperation, to which his wife retorts, "Not everything is about politics." (Of course, the Six-Day War was the attempt of the Arabic world to wipe out Israel and as we have seen nearly succeeded, and this soap is definitely meant as propaganda, but "not everything is about politics".)

Anyway, Assi is pissed that the Israeli general is such a stiff and he demands Salam write him better. Salam, who is completely at Assi's mercy—he cannot cross into Palestine without Assi's approval—exploits this by suggesting Assi write the scenes that he wants to see from the Israeli general. Before you know it, the Israeli general is the hot ticket, and the dramatic conflict endears him even further to Lubna. But he's also slipping in little messages to Mariam that she invariable sees because everyone in the hospital she works at watches "Tel Aviv on Fire", especially as the audience grows with the shows unexpected twists and turns.

Salam grows as well. Assi's contributions got him a shot to actually script the show (especially after the pissed-off writer quit) but he realizes that the Israeli commander's experiences can only partly fuel thing, and so he starts to write the romantic things from his relationship (and from anyone he can eavesdrop on, like a true writer).

Assi unfortunately grows increasingly bellicose: Salam has promised him (back when he was pretending to write the show) that the Israeli general and the Palestinian spy would get married. But the show's backers aren't going to allow that. His uncle's solution is simple: Have the wedding, but have Tala be strapped for explosives so she can blow everyone up. Salam argues that's too cliché, they've all seen it a million times. (I wasn't kidding about Palestinian movies.)

The uncle is played by Nadim Sawalha, a character actor in many English-language movies, like "The Spy Who Loved Me".

So at our climactic moment, we have Salam needing to assuage Assi, and his uncle, and his uncle's Palestinian financiers, and Mariam (because Lubna is coming on strong), and not least to defend his newly acquired position as a writer of some skill and the self-respect that has brought him. The solution he does come up with is quite delightful.

It's a lot of fun. And it's really not very political. (In fact, you'll see some critics complaining exactly that: It's not political enough! It goes for goofy fun instead of biting satire!) The anodyne suggestion made here is, essentially, "what we've been doing up till now hasn't worked, maybe we should try something different." And I can't help but note the subtext of the financiers basically stoking the fires of hate.

The stars of the film, Kais Nashif (as Salam) and Lubna Azabal (Tala, Coriolanus, Incendies), co-starred in 2005's Paradise Now which was my introduction to Palestinian cinema, and features the "happy ending" of one of the characters blowing himself up on a bus full of Israeli soldiers. It's a great introduction to the mindset, really, which is "Jews are evil. They oppress us and are responsible for all our woes. We must kill them all." I can only recommend it for that purpose—understanding the mindset—because it was genuinely morally repugnant (and showered with awards, naturally).

It would be nice to think that that mindset were changing but director/co-writer Sameh Zoabi (writer/director of 2010's charming Man Without A Cell Phone) is Israeli as are all the producers (from what I can tell). It's pretty routine to hear cries for "solutions" and "compromise" from that side of the wall. But the next Palestinian movie I see with that viewpoint will be the first.

She's hesitant because the targets she's shooting at are...gasp...pictures of Palestinian "Freedom Fighters".

Posted by: OregonMuse at 08:08 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Ah Hah!

Posted by: Moon Moon Blutarski at December 14, 2019 08:08 PM (VNfwt)

2 Popcorn time

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:09 PM (ZCEU2)

3 Watching Rudolph over here Boss!

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:09 PM (Y4EXg)

4 Guy in the last pic looks like Borat.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Austere Religious Scholar at December 14, 2019 08:09 PM (b7IdW)

5 meh.

Posted by: chavez the hugo at December 14, 2019 08:10 PM (KP5rU)

6 Not any movies this week but slowly getting through the British tv series Danger UXB, finished 7 episodes so far, very watchable.

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:11 PM (ZCEU2)

7 3 Watching Rudolph over here Boss!
Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:09 PM (Y4EXg)

----------------------------------

The original How the Grinch Stole Christmas is currently on TBS.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:11 PM (CAJOC)

8 The original How the Grinch Stole Christmas is currently on TBS.
Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:11 PM (CAJOC)

"You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch."

Sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, AKA the voice of "Tony the Tiger."

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Austere Religious Scholar at December 14, 2019 08:12 PM (b7IdW)

9 Thurl Ravenscroft was apparently his real name, too.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 08:13 PM (CcUfv)

10 8 The original How the Grinch Stole Christmas is currently on TBS.
Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:11 PM (CAJOC)

"You're a foul on, Mr. Grinch."

Sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, AKA the voice of "Tony the Tiger."
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Austere Religious Scholar at December 14, 2019 08:12 PM (b7IdW)

----------------------------

They just don't make names like that anymore.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:13 PM (CAJOC)

11 Uhhh

Posted by: freaked at December 14, 2019 08:14 PM (Tnijr)

12 I do love the voice of Boris Karloff.

Posted by: Mrs. Leggy at December 14, 2019 08:14 PM (Vf4Y7)

13 Movies with Mikey, John Wick 3

https://youtu.be/pAZtxmCRnxs

(Spoilers: Some people try to kill John Wick, but this proves to be too hopeful and he ends up shooting them twice in the head.)

Posted by: BourbonChicken at December 14, 2019 08:15 PM (LxTcq)

14 9 Thurl Ravenscroft was apparently his real name, too.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 08:13 PM (CcUfv)

Totally awesome name.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Austere Religious Scholar at December 14, 2019 08:15 PM (b7IdW)

15 The original How the Grinch Stole Christmas is currently on TBS.
Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:11 PM (CAJOC)

THE GRINCH! MY HOMIE!!!

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at December 14, 2019 08:15 PM (dJGLL)

16 Not any movies this week but slowly getting through
the British tv series Danger UXB, finished 7 episodes so far, very
watchable.

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:11 PM (ZCEU2)

It's top notch. Anthony Andrews was good as always. Deborah Watling of Dr. Who fame was ever so lovely.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at December 14, 2019 08:15 PM (XKWDE)

17 Wherein art all thou fair motherf*****s?

Posted by: Builder Berg at December 14, 2019 08:16 PM (qMnBn)

18 And Boris Karloff was really Bill Pratt.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at December 14, 2019 08:17 PM (38jed)

19 just finished GWTW on TCM. Still awesome. I wonder how much longer until it goes down the memory hole?

Posted by: vivi at December 14, 2019 08:17 PM (11H2y)

20 The kids were watching The Return of a Man Called Horse this week - I caught a glimpse of "Elk Woman" who looked awfully familiar. Clearly an older actress and had the bearing of someone that had been in the business forever.

After looking into her, it turns out it was Gale Sondergaard (b. 1899). She tested for The Wicked Witch in TWOO. Turns out makeup couldn't quite get her ugly enough to land the role.

https://tinyurl.com/wr9l3o2

Interesting.

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:18 PM (Y4EXg)

21 It's Oscar bait season. So far the only interesting film is 1917.

We have another blacks are horribly oppressed film.

Posted by: WOPR at December 14, 2019 08:18 PM (/eFK2)

22 just finished GWTW on TCM. Still awesome. I wonder how much longer until it goes down the memory hole?

Posted by: vivi at December 14, 2019 08:17 PM (11H2y)

#Soon.
#WhitePatriachyDelendaEst

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar knows that EDKH at December 14, 2019 08:21 PM (BiNEL)

23 Oh FFS. They have to show Grinch opposite Rudolph?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at December 14, 2019 08:22 PM (gd9RK)

24 I wanted to go see "Richard Jewell." but it snowed. And going to a theater is a chore. And it snowed.

Watched Gorgo instead. Limey Godzilla.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Movie Cricket at December 14, 2019 08:23 PM (x8Wzq)

25 Oh FFS. They have to show Grinch opposite Rudolph?
Posted by: Bandersnatch

---

I know! It's just The Man trying to keep us down!

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:23 PM (Y4EXg)

26 25 Oh FFS. They have to show Grinch opposite Rudolph?
Posted by: Bandersnatch

---

I know! It's just The Man trying to keep us down!
Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:23 PM (Y4EXg)

---------------------------

What channel is Rudolph on?

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:24 PM (CAJOC)

27 Okay, this is a tv show. Has anyone else watched Bob Hearts Aboshola? It's another Chuck Lorre comedy. I want to completely write it off but it kept surprising me. Bob runs the family business (played by the lead from Mike and Molly). He has younger twin brother and sister that are woke idiots. He falls in live with Aboshola, whose a single mom, nurse from Nigeria. The blacks have their own disfunctional families. They made fun of woke advertising. And when his mom has a stroke, they show him in the hospital chapel.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at December 14, 2019 08:24 PM (Lqy/e)

28 Oh FFS. They have to show Grinch opposite Rudolph?
Posted by: Bandersnatch

Decisions be hard, yo!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar knows that EDKH at December 14, 2019 08:24 PM (BiNEL)

29 ooh movies

Posted by: votermom planning her campaign platform at December 14, 2019 08:24 PM (G546f)

30 @WOPR ... Parasite, reviewed here last time, is worth a watch. I'm not sure if it's Oscar-bait or not, since I have no idea how the Koreans feel about it.

1917 is on my list.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 08:25 PM (CcUfv)

31 Rudolph is on CBS. alexthechick pointed out -- before I hung up on her to watch Rudolph -- that it's an amazing re-mastering. You can see every stictch on the puppets.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at December 14, 2019 08:26 PM (gd9RK)

32 I watched Gone with the Wind some years ago, because I felt an obligation to do so.

Did. Not. Like.

Carol Burnett was a much more likeable Scarlett.

I do admit, though, that I liked Olivia Dehaviland. Far as I know she still ain't dead.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Movie Cricket at December 14, 2019 08:26 PM (x8Wzq)

33 I have Hulu and it says Rudolph is on CBS. But it wont let me watch.

Posted by: Ladyl at December 14, 2019 08:26 PM (TdMsT)

34 I have to say that some of my favorite movies are made in Australia. They also get a thumbs up for doing FarScape.

Posted by: Easy Andy at December 14, 2019 08:27 PM (2DOZq)

35 Ladyl - go to ustvgo.tv and pick CBS there.

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:27 PM (Y4EXg)

36 Hey everybody. Movie thread yay! Thanks Moviegique! :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:28 PM (L2ZTs)

37 The uncle is played by Nadim Sawalha, a character actor in many English-language movies, like "The Spy Who Loved Me".

A funny story about The Spy Who Loved Me. Well I think it's funny. During the filming at an excavation site in Egypt where Bond and Barbara Bach are being chased by Jaws. They wanted Richard Kiel to run across some scaffolding. He said he couldn't because he's afraid of heights. They looked up at him (7'2") and he said, Oh I'm even afraid to be up this high

Posted by: TheQuietMan at December 14, 2019 08:29 PM (XKWDE)

38 If fire fighters fight fires and crime fighters fight crime, what do freedom fighters fight? - Some Old Dead White Guy

Posted by: ... at December 14, 2019 08:29 PM (7HyDs)

39 Oh FFS. They have to show Grinch opposite Rudolph?
Posted by: Bandersnatch

Easy choice for me. Grinch. Rudolph was kind of uncomfortable for some reason. As a kid, one thing that got me is how did the abominable snowman shrink from a towering form that makes mountains look small to a bulky furry guy with bad teefs.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Movie Cricket at December 14, 2019 08:29 PM (x8Wzq)

40 Hey, qdpsteve!

TQM -- Hey, that's a pretty funny story!

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 08:30 PM (CcUfv)

41 35 Ladyl - go to ustvgo.tv and pick CBS there.
Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:27 PM (Y4EXg)

I'll try that, thanks!

Posted by: Ladyl at December 14, 2019 08:31 PM (TdMsT)

42 And they've decided to follow the Grinch with Elf on the Shelf.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:31 PM (CAJOC)

43 37 got a chuckle from me

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:31 PM (ZCEU2)

44 GWTW is overrated.

Posted by: Puddleglum at December 14, 2019 08:32 PM (/OpAr)

45 How interesting. Thank you for the review, moviegique.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 08:32 PM (zr5Kq)

46 Grinch is Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones (all the best Bugs Bunnys). With jazz. It's perfect.

Rudolph I haven't seen in forever. The claymation is amazing. I pity the kids today who have to settle for CGI.

Tonight it's Rudolph for the nostalgia and the amazing remastering.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at December 14, 2019 08:33 PM (gd9RK)

47 39 Oh FFS. They have to show Grinch opposite Rudolph?
Posted by: Bandersnatch

Easy choice for me. Grinch. Rudolph was kind of uncomfortable for some reason. As a kid, one thing that got me is how did the abominable snowman shrink from a towering form that makes mountains look small to a bulky furry guy with bad teefs.
Posted by: Pug Mahon, Movie Cricket at December 14, 2019 08:29 PM (x8Wzq)

---------------------------

Back in college, on of my bosses had his own version of the elf song.

"We are Santa's elves
Playing with ourselves..."

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:33 PM (CAJOC)

48 1939 was the year of the classic.

Posted by: Easy Andy at December 14, 2019 08:33 PM (2DOZq)

49 Thanks for reading, runner!

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 08:34 PM (CcUfv)

50 Yukon Cornelius needed to get guitar strings?

I had missed that all these years.

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:34 PM (Y4EXg)

51 I have mentioned before that I knew Israeli actress Daliah Lavi

https://tinyurl.com/ue22bbg

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc. etc. at December 14, 2019 08:34 PM (CDGwz)

52 Foreign soap operas are more like telenovellas in that they have a tighter story, a definitive theme, and an eventual ending.

American soap operas just go on and on and on with romance, envy, jealousy, intrigue, greed and tragic circumstances passed from one character to another like a cosmic basketball. And lots of evil twins, long lost relatives, and amnesia.

Posted by: Minuteman at December 14, 2019 08:34 PM (SNdwr)

53 I always liked making up my own lyrics to the tune of Mr. Grinch:

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch
You're a steaming pile of filth
You're a plate of rancid of sushi
A tepid bowl of spit
Mr. Grinch...

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Movie Cricket at December 14, 2019 08:34 PM (x8Wzq)

54 2005 was not a good year for Israel. Second intifadeh I believe.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 08:34 PM (zr5Kq)

55 46 Grinch is Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones (all the best Bugs Bunnys). With jazz. It's perfect.

Rudolph I haven't seen in forever. The claymation is amazing. I pity the kids today who have to settle for CGI.

Tonight it's Rudolph for the nostalgia and the amazing remastering.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at December 14, 2019 08:33 PM (gd9RK)

----------------------------

My son doesn't like the claymation. He finds the stop motion disturbing for some reason.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:34 PM (CAJOC)

56 34
I have to say that some of my favorite movies are made in Australia. They also get a thumbs up for doing FarScape.

Posted by: Easy Andy at December 14, 2019 08:27 PM (2DOZq)

Mmmmm....`Claudia Black

Posted by: NOT THAT GUY at December 14, 2019 08:35 PM (tTLAA)

57 I am glad to see that things are thawing - at least on where the arts are concerned. That is where is usually starts.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 08:36 PM (zr5Kq)

58 Whatever became of Rankin Bass?

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:36 PM (L2ZTs)

59 Arab world is rife with its special humor. And no, not blow up Israelis type.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 08:37 PM (zr5Kq)

60 I have quite a few Christmas specials on DVD. Figured I better buy them before the Woke Warriors get a hold of them and 'edit' them accordingly or just disappear them. I'm still surprised Linus's "Meaning of Christmas" scene is still shown on TV. Schultz had problems keeping that back in the early 60s. Imagine if he tried that now?

Posted by: Puddleglum at December 14, 2019 08:37 PM (/OpAr)

61 runner, I admit I've always assumed Arab humor is similar to what you find in a lot of Latin American/European humor, i.e. Benny Hill.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:37 PM (L2ZTs)

62 Whatever became of Rankin Bass?
Posted by: qdpsteve

---

Wiki (spit) says they shut down in 87. Of course their library has been sold off.

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 08:38 PM (Y4EXg)

63 "Whatever became of Rankin Bass?"

Frosty the Snowman got busted with 20 pounds of snow.

Posted by: freaked at December 14, 2019 08:38 PM (Tnijr)

64 51 I have mentioned before that I knew Israeli actress Daliah Lavi

https://tinyurl.com/ue22bbg
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc. etc

She looks angry.

Posted by: Puddleglum at December 14, 2019 08:39 PM (/OpAr)

65 donsurber.blogspot./actually-rudolph-was-trump-supporter
https://tinyurl.com/sz555pw
Only because it's the subject matter, save it for later but good read

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:39 PM (ZCEU2)

66 63 "Whatever became of Rankin Bass?"

Frosty the Snowman got busted with 20 pounds of snow.
Posted by: freaked at December 14, 2019 08:38 PM (Tnijr)

----------------------------------

Yeah, Rudolph's red nose wasn't a genetic anomaly.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 08:40 PM (CAJOC)

67 Something about Palestinians and movies I just don't want to watch those people in anything, especially comedies.

Too much bad blood I guess.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at December 14, 2019 08:40 PM (Z+IKu)

68 Puddleglum, agreed re A Charlie Brown Christmas.

For a long time I wished someone like Steven Spielberg would make a big-screen, feature-length version of it, but then I realized he couldn't do it without ruining it.

I think a major reason ACBC doesn't get cut up is that thankfully, in the years since 1965, Charles Schulz and the Peanuts strip itself both became so revered and respected. Schulz to this day seems to have fans on both sides of the political fence, and no one argues with his surviving wife Jean Schulz when she calls him a genius.

And then there's also the fact that... let's face it... conservative media is finally a sharp force (or at least finally becoming one), and ABC doesn't want to deal with the fallout of censoring ACBC.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:40 PM (L2ZTs)

69 Haven't seen to many Australian movies but they seem funny quirky to me, watchable but just goofy things often.

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:41 PM (ZCEU2)

70 Too good not to share:

https://tinyurl.com/r6l9ust

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at December 14, 2019 08:42 PM (38jed)

71 Skip, re Australian movies:

The movie I won't shut up about, Picnic At Hanging Rock, is one of them. Check it out. :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:42 PM (L2ZTs)

72 I wonder if the movies "The Darkest Hour" and "Dunkirk" had any influence on the Brit elections. Maybe getting a little pride back?

Posted by: bill in arkansas at December 14, 2019 08:45 PM (C1Lsn)

73 runner, I admit I've always assumed Arab humor is similar to what you find in a lot of Latin American/European humor, i.e. Benny Hill.
Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:37 PM (L2ZTs)

I understand a lot it is play on words.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 08:45 PM (zr5Kq)

74 Rankin Bass made the original adaptation of The Hobbit.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at December 14, 2019 08:45 PM (38jed)

75 really interesting movie, one of Russell Crowe's first, called Proof. check it out...

Posted by: vivi at December 14, 2019 08:45 PM (11H2y)

76 bill in arkansas, I think you're on to something.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:45 PM (L2ZTs)

77 Puddleglum -- The fight Schulz had to put up to get the three things that make the special iconic is legendary. What three things:

1. Kids doing kids voices
2. Jazz music
3. Linus' speech

Also, the lack of a laugh track. He fought for all of it. ABC was SURE it was going to bomb.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 08:46 PM (CcUfv)

78 77: Network suits being stupid seems to be a constant.

Posted by: Puddleglum at December 14, 2019 08:48 PM (/OpAr)

79 Something about Palestinians and movies I just don't want to watch those people in anything, especially comedies.

Too much bad blood I guess.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at December 14, 2019 08:40 PM (Z+IKu)

Anythings worth watching (as this one) has Israeli participation. I will not watch some Pali propaganda, but "biting satire", yes i would.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 08:48 PM (zr5Kq)

80 I saw Picnic at Hanging Rock over the summer
It took two tries to watch The Plumber ( I think thats the title)

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:48 PM (ZCEU2)

81 Not any movies this week but slowly getting through
the British tv series Danger UXB, finished 7 episodes so far, very
watchable.

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:11 PM

Great series.

*looks back upthread*

Hmm...Nadim Sawalha.

*checks interwebs*

Father of the actress who played the daughter in Absolutely Fabulous. Small world, the British acting pool.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at December 14, 2019 08:50 PM (rBtIz)

82 I am watching Cowboys as we type. I love that movie. Bruce Durn is always so evil. Wonder if he was like that in real life.

Still trying to find Three Godfathers to watch.

Posted by: Infidel at December 14, 2019 08:50 PM (O/X1S)

83 The Man From Snowy River is a favorite.

Proposition is darker but very good.

Posted by: Easy Andy at December 14, 2019 08:52 PM (2DOZq)

84
I have quite a few Christmas specials on DVD. Figured I better buy them
before the Woke Warriors get a hold of them and 'edit' them accordingly
or just disappear them. I'm still surprised Linus's "Meaning of
Christmas" scene is still shown on TV. Schultz had problems keeping that
back in the early 60s. Imagine if he tried that now?

Posted by: Puddleglum at December 14, 2019 08:37 PM (/OpAr)

It's got to break their commie, atheist, Christian hating hearts to leave the Linus scene in but they probably figure they can't edit it out without a big blow up

Posted by: TheQuietMan at December 14, 2019 08:53 PM (XKWDE)

85 The Cowboys is in my top 3 westerns

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:54 PM (ZCEU2)

86 Bruce Dern is alive and well. I seem to remember he went on a quantity not quality kick in making movies, yet still excelled in his craft.

Posted by: bill in arkansas at December 14, 2019 08:55 PM (C1Lsn)

87 Moviegique, correct except for one little thing:

Schulz produced A Charlie Brown Christmas, and almost all of the other specials, for CBS. (Which at the time was prestigiously known as "the Tiffany network.")

I have no idea why they sold them off to Disney/ABC in the last decade, but they did.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:55 PM (L2ZTs)

88 Skip, what'ja think of Picnic?

I admit it leaves you hanging, literally :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:55 PM (L2ZTs)

89 That you couldn't be sure how it ended yet was all swept under the rug so to speak

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:57 PM (ZCEU2)

90 Skip, exactly.
I think Picnic At Hanging Rock is great, but I can understand why others don't.

When I showed it to my sister, she was ANGRY about the ending.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 08:58 PM (L2ZTs)

91 Bruce is 83 and still above ground

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 08:58 PM (ZCEU2)

92 qdpsteve--

Good catch! I grew up watching those on CBS. Er...as I'm sure all you nearly 29 year olds did.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 08:59 PM (CcUfv)

93 bill in arkansas, Silent Running with Bruce Dern is one of my favorite movies.

Posted by: Eromero at December 14, 2019 08:59 PM (UUkQp)

94 Hallmark had indicated they were willing to get woke but a little pushback has delayed their plans. They were going to air lesbo wedding commercials but a boycott threat changed their mind.

Posted by: Easy Andy at December 14, 2019 09:00 PM (2DOZq)

95 Haven't seen Silent Running but twice but think it's a great movie

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 09:00 PM (ZCEU2)

96 moviegique, yup.

Not sure, but I believe most of the Rankin Bass specials were for CBS as well.

I know that in the late 1960s and 70s, CBS seemed to be the only network that did well in the ratings war after year, consistently. NBC and ABC seemed to always be scrambling to keep up somewhat somehow for whatever reason.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:00 PM (L2ZTs)

97 Skip, another fun piece of trivia:

Both Steven Bochco and Michael Cimino were writers on Silent Running.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:01 PM (L2ZTs)

98 Bruce Dern wasn't exactly evil in Freaks (reviewed here a few months back) but they were kind of counting on you thinking he was. Heh.

I learned this week that "Freaks" (2019) made about as much in actual dollars (not adjusted for inflations) as "Freaks" (1932).

Even when I'm trying to present y'all with mainstream stuff, I fail.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:01 PM (CcUfv)

99 Couple of comments.
1. Saw Richard Jewel yesterday. Eastwood made both the press and the FBI look like clueless ass-hats; in other words the movie is an example of true cinema- verite.

2. I am in the process of assembling my digital film production hardware system. So far I have a BlackMagicDesign pocket cinema 4k, some cinema lenses, an external 7" monitor, external battery, rails, matte box, a few filters, a nice fluid head tripod, and an editing computer. Looking at getting sound gear next.
My first video project with the gear is going to be a short I'm naming "Dancing Houston". I let you guys know about the project as it develops.

Posted by: An Observation at December 14, 2019 09:01 PM (l8Qs6)

100 qdpsteve -- Very true up until ABC in the mid- to late-'70s.

And NBC took over in the '80s.

OK, so next time I'll do "Richard Jewell". You guys like Eastwood, right?

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:02 PM (CcUfv)

101 Greetings movie people!
I rewatched "Fury" today.
A good movie for WWII tank buffs.

Posted by: navybrat, at large at December 14, 2019 09:03 PM (w7KSn)

102 Cool beans, An Observation! Looking forward to it!

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:03 PM (CcUfv)

103 moviegique, one film that I think could actually be remade well today, is the original 1932 story of Freaks.

(As long as the director/producers don't try to go over-the-top with adding in 'new layers of meaning,' politics, or gore. If you're gonna dream, dream big, right?) :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:03 PM (L2ZTs)

104 I LOVED Silent Running right up to when I found out what the 'mysterious disease' the plants had that provided the crisis point. Then I nearly threw something at the screen.

Posted by: Lirio100 at December 14, 2019 09:03 PM (JK7Jw)

105 I'm watching 'Feeders 2' and probably do not deserve to comment.

Posted by: Victor Tango Kilo at December 14, 2019 09:03 PM (LOOYt)

106 Thurl Ravenscroft is one of the singing busts at Disney's Haunted Mansion. His is the broken bust, and because of his mustache he is often mistaken for Walt Disney by riders (Walt is not depicted in the ride).

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:04 PM (I99aF)

107 I probably won't go out of my way to see Richard Jewell in the theaters, but it'll be an insta-buy when it comes out on disc.

Also, Joker is coming out on blu-ray on the first Tuesday of the new year, Jan 7. I wish it were coming out pre-Christmas like originally planned, but oh well. My only question is, get the 4k & blu-ray or the blu-ray and DVD?

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:05 PM (L2ZTs)

108 70 Too good not to share:

https://tinyurl.com/r6l9ust
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at December 14, 2019 08:42 PM (38jed)

I laughed my ass off.

Posted by: Ladyl at December 14, 2019 09:05 PM (TdMsT)

109 Speaking of GWTW, my little Italian grandmother was the spitting image of Olivia de Havilland. Olivia's still here, my grandmother (who was expected to die in the 40s from rheumatic fever) only made it to 93.

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at December 14, 2019 09:05 PM (DY3v8)

110 Lirio, lemme guess: air pollution and overpopulation.

Those were the big eco-bugaboos in the early 1970s.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:05 PM (L2ZTs)

111 Just saw the trailer for Richard Jewell, must have been on the A&N game, looks good

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 09:06 PM (ZCEU2)

112 In movie news, picked up Well-Go's new Phantasm box set. It's full of both improvements and disappointments. I'll elaborate if anyone is interested.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:06 PM (I99aF)

113 Maisa's kind of cute. She could lite my fuse.

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at December 14, 2019 09:06 PM (DY3v8)

114 Democrats are gonna hate this. Some of those votes were in the trunk of a car just waiting to be used.

https://tinyurl.com/u6b6o9x

Posted by: jsg at December 14, 2019 09:06 PM (D46E0)

115 'Silent Running' is best if you come in after the opening credits and miss Joanie Phoney wailing her ass off.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at December 14, 2019 09:07 PM (38jed)

116 https://tinyurl.com/r6l9ust
Posted by: Mr. Peebles

---

That is so wrong yet, here I am giggling.

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 09:07 PM (Y4EXg)

117 Coriolanus is the worst Shakespeare movie adaption IMHO.

Posted by: Oggi at December 14, 2019 09:07 PM (Bk5Q+)

118 qdpsteve, nope. Lack of light, one of the easiest things to diagnose in plants grown inside.

Posted by: Lirio100 at December 14, 2019 09:07 PM (JK7Jw)

119 Lirio, gonna have to see it then. :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:08 PM (L2ZTs)

120 1. Saw Richard Jewel yesterday. Eastwood made both the press and the FBI look like clueless ass-hats; in other words the movie is an example of true cinema- verite.

But did you like it as a movie? No. 1 Son didn't. He's too young to know things. Is it good as a movie?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at December 14, 2019 09:09 PM (gd9RK)

121 I saw 'Richard Jewell' and was plugging it yesterday. Don't wait for it to come out on Netflix where they will doubtless spring "fact check" popups as you watch the thing. Watch it now.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:09 PM (ykYG2)

122 I rewatched "Fury" today.

A good movie for WWII tank buffs.

I'll bet I saw it 5 times. I'm pretty tough on movies but I really like that one.

Posted by: dartist at December 14, 2019 09:09 PM (K22Va)

123 moviegique, now that the decade is ending, I'm looking forward to your and TJM's best-of-the-2010s lists. :-)

My nom for best sci-fi flick of the 2010s: Ex Machina.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:09 PM (L2ZTs)

124 I really liked it up to then (sigh). I wouldn't even have had a problem with it then, except they showed him poring over book after book frantically looking for the cause. First book he looked at should have shown him!

Posted by: Lirio100 at December 14, 2019 09:09 PM (JK7Jw)

125 The Charlie Brown Christmas Special is timeless as the dichotomy of the material and the transcendent.

That said, surprise anal! Bewbs! Otters.

Posted by: Regular joe at December 14, 2019 09:10 PM (6/uwW)

126 "but the palestinian movie i see with that viewpoint will be the first..."

your first and the film makers' last.

Posted by: mjc at December 14, 2019 09:11 PM (Pg+x7)

127 Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) Confirms He'll Vote Against Impeaching Trump

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1206028728989601797

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Austere Religious Scholar at December 14, 2019 09:11 PM (b7IdW)

128 Parasite was amazing. It starts off as this weird black comedy and the final act goes completely bonkers. So well done.

I know a lot of the Horde are canceling Netflix, but if you have it, Klaus is quite amazing. Emperors New Groove meets the origin story of Santa Claus. And the animation is gorgeous. Well plotted and the story goes in unexpectedly poignant places.

Liked Doctor Sleep and JoJo Rabbit as well. The former combines horror with an optimistic morality tale on overcoming trauma and finding purpose. Really well done and acted. The costuming in the latter film is so well done; when the shoes of one of your characters adds to the dramatic arc, as a costumer you are doing something right!

Posted by: LizLem at December 14, 2019 09:11 PM (VjxvX)

129 Amazon Prime's got season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Posted by: Ladyl at December 14, 2019 09:12 PM (TdMsT)

130 I think Richard Jewell is coming out at a bad time of year. We would certainly have seen it already if holiday craziness wasn't already upon us. We are going to try for tomorrow.

Posted by: Gem at December 14, 2019 09:12 PM (65i3Q)

131 yes, Bander, "Richard Jewell" hits the right notes as a movie.

You want to slap Jewell for being such a beta male simpleton but you also are rooting for him to defeat the various El Guapos arranged against him. You also will be grinding your teeth at Olivia Wilde's soulless MILF character (although still thinking she is hot). The story-structure works toward its ending and the scenes join together with proper pacing.*

So yes, 'Richard Jewell' works as a movie.

*which 'The Mule' didn't, as much, because Clint Eastwood didn't listen to his editors.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:12 PM (ykYG2)

132 127
Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) Confirms He'll Vote Against Impeaching Trump

#2

Posted by: dartist at December 14, 2019 09:12 PM (K22Va)

133 qdpsteve-- It'd be interesting in the right hands, but whose hands are those?

Victor Tango--You're watching "Feeders 2"? Rifftrax, I hope!

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:12 PM (CcUfv)

134 I would never watch a Palestinian movie. I already saw Don't Mess with the Zohan and that's enough for me.

Posted by: Regular joe at December 14, 2019 09:12 PM (6/uwW)

135 LizLem, thanks for reminding me:

How many of you have seen A Ghost Story, which came out about two years ago? Starring Casey Affleck (under a sheet) and Rooney Mara.

I was reading about it this past week. It sounds great, but also extremely sad and slow. It also plays a bit with time travel.

At an ONT, someone was heartily recommend it. One of the ettes; wish I could remember who.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:13 PM (L2ZTs)

136 There is also this : "New Jersey Democrat Rep. Jeff Van Drew is said to be considering switching political parties just before the House votes on impeaching President Trump."

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 09:13 PM (zr5Kq)

137 Wait, Parasite the movie, or Parasite the KISS song?

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at December 14, 2019 09:14 PM (DY3v8)

138 runner, yup.

I can't wait for the pounding Dems are gonna get in November. The amount of screaming, teeth gnashing and waves of liberal tears will be tsunami-sized.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:14 PM (L2ZTs)

139 Didn't Gary Busey and Billy Zane make a pro-jihad movie in Turkey? I have a vague memory of that.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:14 PM (I99aF)

140 qdpsteve -- I did one of those on Twitter. I thought "Ex Machina" was a little overrated. I mean, it's a fine B-movie (like "Get Out") but I don't get the hype.

But the sci-fi this decade has been weak. I'm not sure I could come up with anything better, unless it's the Spanish movie "Ex Machina" seems to borrow heavily from.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:15 PM (CcUfv)

141 Didn't Gary Busey and Billy Zane make a pro-jihad movie in Turkey? I have a vague memory of that.

They did. "Valley Of The Wolves Iraq", which maybe sounded poetic in Turkish. Busey played a Jewish doctor there to harvest Iraqi organs.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:16 PM (ykYG2)

142 Greta Thunberg apologizes for her 'against the wall' comment, says it was a translation error. Uh huh.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:16 PM (L2ZTs)

143 139 Didn't Gary Busey and Billy Zane make a pro-jihad movie in Turkey? I have a vague memory of that.
Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:14 PM (I99aF)

That was Vincent "I'll do anything for money" Price. The 2-state solution was played by Brian Dennehy.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Austere Religious Scholar at December 14, 2019 09:17 PM (b7IdW)

144 Greta Thunberg apologizes for her 'against the wall' comment, says it was a translation error. Uh huh.
Posted by: qdpsteve

---

Oh, I'm sure.

She meant to say "against the wall and shoot them".

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 09:17 PM (Y4EXg)

145 Amazon Prime's got season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Posted by: Ladyl at December 14, 2019 09:12 PM (TdMs

JJ Sefton in one morning report I caught mentioned an unfortunate directorial twist - Anti-Semitism Smear Against Phyllis Schlafly. Debunked I guess, but they still went there. Sad.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 09:17 PM (zr5Kq)

146 moviegique, agreed that sci-fi the last 10 years has been a trainwreck.

It seems to have been the decade for big-splash flicks, including/especially superhero and historical films.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:17 PM (L2ZTs)

147 I suspect the Israeli movies are a lot less political simply because those who make them have concluded that their audiences want to escape politics. (It's a strange idea, escapism, but one that I think its valid.)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at December 14, 2019 09:17 PM (dJGLL)

148 98 Bruce Dern wasn't exactly evil in Freaks (reviewed here a few months back) but they were kind of counting on you thinking he was. Heh.
Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:01 PM (CcUfv)

---------------------------------
I thought he was an old pervert at first but that changed when he showed his daughter's photo. I watched it last night and liked it.

Posted by: Oggi at December 14, 2019 09:17 PM (Bk5Q+)

149
Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) Confirms He'll Vote Against Impeaching Trump

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1206028728989601797

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor Austere Religious Scholar at December 14, 2019 09:11 PM (b7IdW)

New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, the lone Democratic congressman to come out against the impeachment of President Donald Trump, will become a Republican next week, multiple Democratic sources told USA TODAY.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at December 14, 2019 09:18 PM (XKWDE)

150 I liked "Ex Machina" but that was partly or even mostly because I hated "Her" so much. So I graded on a curve. I didn't notice the hype for "Ex Machina" so that didn't affect my opinion.

I thought "Alita" was underrated by the critics and overrated by 4chan. I have a pretty good idea why 4chan liked it.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:18 PM (ykYG2)

151 Tonypete, probably.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:18 PM (L2ZTs)

152
How many of you have seen A Ghost Story, which came out about two years ago? Starring Casey Affleck (under a sheet) and Rooney Mara.

I was reading about it this past week. It sounds great, but also extremely sad and slow. It also plays a bit with time travel.

At an ONT, someone was heartily recommend it. One of the ettes; wish I could remember who.
Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:13 PM (L2ZTs)

Me, maybe. :-) I loved it and gushed about it. It blew me away. But I know others did, too.

Posted by: Gem at December 14, 2019 09:18 PM (65i3Q)

153 I can't wait for the pounding Dems are gonna get in November. The amount of screaming, teeth gnashing and waves of liberal tears will be tsunami-sized.
Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:14 PM (L2ZTs)

We must do better than our "cousins" across the pond, no ?

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 09:19 PM (zr5Kq)

154 She meant to say "against the wall and shoot them".

Posted by: Tonypete at December 14, 2019 09:17 PM (Y4EXg)

"Against the Wall" and "Edge of the Ditch" are so close in da Svedish!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar knows that EDKH at December 14, 2019 09:19 PM (BiNEL)

155 Gem, thanks :-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:19 PM (L2ZTs)

156 Sci-fi hasn't been a total loss. I will gladly defend Blade Runner 2049 as one of the best films I've seen in the last decade, sci-fi or otherwise.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:20 PM (I99aF)

157 For those that watched Lost in Space on Netflix, a new season is coming out on Christmas Eve.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 14, 2019 09:20 PM (CAJOC)

158 23 Oh FFS. They have to show Grinch opposite Rudolph?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at December 14, 2019 08:22 PM (gd9RK)

This is a re-air of the Grinch. It was on last night.

Posted by: buzzion at December 14, 2019 09:20 PM (Z7lwY)

159 "Against the Wall" and "Edge of the Ditch" are so close in da Svedish!

How about "Sell The Zyklon And Handguns To The Killers While We Pretend To Be Neutral" ?

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:20 PM (ykYG2)

160 I saw the trailer for Coriolanus, which I have not read. It seems somewhere near Hopkins King Lear and Titus Andronicus.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at December 14, 2019 09:21 PM (LxTcq)

161 Rusty Nail, really?
I didn't think BR2049 was horrible, but I was let down a bit.

IMHO it had the same major problem as Prometheus-- i.e., it seemed made only to give birth to another rapidly-deteriorating-in-quality franchise-- and also, I thought there was too much of an effort to ape Philip K. Dick's style, to the point of cartoonishness.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:22 PM (L2ZTs)

162 I have mentioned before that I knew Israeli actress Daliah Lavi

https://tinyurl.com/ue22bbg
Posted by: Mike Hammer,

Go on........

Posted by: JT at December 14, 2019 09:22 PM (arJlL)

163 Translation error my ass.

Posted by: jsg at December 14, 2019 09:22 PM (D46E0)

164 Really. I found it to be a completely satisfying sequel, and works fine as a conclusion without feeling like it's setting up future films (which won't happen now anyway). I also like that it works no matter which "continuity" of Blade Runner you subscribe to.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:25 PM (I99aF)

165 jsg, yup. Sez Greta: "this is what happens when you improvise speeches in a second language. But of course I apologize if anyone misunderstood this."

Not feeling the remorse, Greta. Not feeling it.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:25 PM (L2ZTs)

166 This week I picked up Once Upon a Time In Hollywood on DVD.

Great movie, even if you're not a Tarantino fan.

Posted by: davidt at December 14, 2019 09:26 PM (l3+k2)

167 Rusty Nail, hmmm.
I probably need to take a second look at it. Anyway thanks for your feedback.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:26 PM (L2ZTs)

168 I suspect the Israeli movies are a lot less political simply because those who make them have concluded that their audiences want to escape politics. (It's a strange idea, escapism, but one that I think its valid.)
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at December 14, 2019 09:17 PM (dJGLL)

Hollywood got into buying Israeli ideas for various show. Homeland is one. It is based on Hatufim (aka Prisoners Of War) which I watched and liked. Now everybody has a version - France, India, Russia even. French adaptation - deep cover operative comes back from Syria. Indian has to do with India /Pakistan conflict, Russian with Chechnya.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 09:28 PM (zr5Kq)

169 It would be amazing if SNL did a skit of Greta at a presser, and she keeps making more and more outrageously violent comments, and when the reporters push back she insists every time it is a translation error. Goes full socialist dictator at the end and still insists it is being lost in translation.

They will never do this, because they are all pathetic, politically dogmatic wimps.

Posted by: LizLem at December 14, 2019 09:29 PM (VjxvX)

170 Better Call it before the ONT shows up
Have a good night horde

Posted by: Skip at December 14, 2019 09:29 PM (ZCEU2)

171 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was the first time in ages that I felt like I was watching a real "movie" again. And I've never really viewed cinema violence as "cathartic"... until this film. I had no idea how satisfying it could be.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:29 PM (I99aF)

172 She looks like Maya Rudolph.

Posted by: 370H55V at December 14, 2019 09:29 PM (WusEB)

173 Oh, this is rich:

Actress and left-wing activist Bette Midler lamented the current state of political discourse - saying that "it feels as though we are all much less classy"

You ought to read Midler's Twitter feed. She makes Ron Perlman look sane and dignified.

http://alturl.com/dmq9k

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Austere Religious Scholar at December 14, 2019 09:29 PM (b7IdW)

174 LizLem, right on.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:29 PM (L2ZTs)

175 Greta Thunberg is just the Samantha Smith of our time.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at December 14, 2019 09:30 PM (dJGLL)

176 I liked Coriolanus, as you can read in the link above.

http://moviegique.com/2012/02/coriolanus/

It's kind of ballsy and not meant to be literal.

Rusty -- I'd be interested in the Phantasm stuff. I got to see a showing with Bannister and Coscarelli a couple years back.

I toyed with seeing BR 2049 but I'm not a fan of the original, the book is okay (but PKD wasn't exactly a fount of ideas...he seemed to have precisely one), and it's, what, 3 hours long? On the other hand Villeneuve directs...

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:31 PM (CcUfv)

177 But did you like it as a movie? No. 1 Son didn't. He's too young to know things. Is it good as a movie?
Yes, it is a very good movie. I thought Olivia Wilde did a really good acting job - utterly different from her role as 13 on House - for which she is best known. I liked the picture very much. The movie does a really good job of re-creating the feel of 1996.

Posted by: An Observation at December 14, 2019 09:31 PM (l8Qs6)

178 Greta Thunberg apologizes for her 'against the wall' comment, says it was a translation error. Uh huh.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:16 PM (L2ZTs)

Sure it was. Kids like Greta and Hogg have been raised to be good little commissars in the Red Guard. They are completely indoctrinated to carry out the left's agenda and achieve their utopia which always means mass graves

Posted by: TheQuietMan at December 14, 2019 09:32 PM (XKWDE)

179 Greta Thunberg, Sandra Fluke, Michele Fields, Cindy Sheehan....all same woman.

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 09:32 PM (zr5Kq)

180 Does anyone else think the Irishman movie is extremely tedious?

Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at December 14, 2019 09:33 PM (PUmDY)

181 "You ought to read Midler's Twitter feed. She makes Ron Perlman look sane and dignified."

Well, Trump made her do it. If you deplorable toothless bastards hadn't elected him, the discourse would be much more civil.

Posted by: jsg at December 14, 2019 09:33 PM (D46E0)

182 Months ago, Bette Midler was leading the mobs to chase Trump officials out of public spaces, her argument being that they must be judged by the company they keep. Then pictures of her with Harvey Weinstein and Gisalene Maxwell started showing up in her feed.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:33 PM (I99aF)

183 Catch Thirty-Thr33 -- I think you're right. I think, facing a constant existential threat (that they are forced to recognize--rockets are harder to ignore than random murderous illegals), they like the idea of NOT having to think about it for a while.

I'm sure that's why the '30s were full of bubbly cheerful musicals. Depression was found right outside the door.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:33 PM (CcUfv)

184 Greta Thunberg, Sandra Fluke, Michele Fields, Cindy Sheehan....all same woman.

... Valerie Plame . . .

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:34 PM (ykYG2)

185 Cosmic Charlie -- Without even watching so much as a trailer, I think "The Irishman" is tedious.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:34 PM (CcUfv)

186

Samantha Fox?

Posted by: Soothsayer, very senile at December 14, 2019 09:36 PM (4kUit)

187 I cant make an hour of it.

Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at December 14, 2019 09:36 PM (PUmDY)

188 Thunberg: "this is what happens when you improvise speeches in a second language. But of course I apologize if anyone misunderstood this." If I was to believe that, then I would think you are a spokesgoblin that does more harm than good to your cause.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at December 14, 2019 09:37 PM (LxTcq)

189 1939 was the year of the classic.

Posted by: Easy Andy at December 14, 2019 08:33 PM (2DOZq)

THIS! I tried to get my mother to take me with her to see GWTW in 1939, but she said it was not suitable for a young girl.

Posted by: Grannymimi at December 14, 2019 09:37 PM (u5LFV)

190 DeNiro's Shar-Pei face is tedious.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:37 PM (I99aF)

191 Interesting comment on Chinese movies versus Hollywood fare. Certainly, Hollywood shies away from political content. My wife and I were watching "The Death of Stalin" the other day (a very funny movie, believe it or not, which uses humor to carry across the insanity and horror of the USSR); and we agreed that it could never have been made in Hollywood: too political, too "right wing" - which says a lot about what passes for "liberalism" these days!
As for Chinese movies, they're political, but more subtly. For example, a few years ago, we watched a Chinese biopic of Madame Chang-Kai-Shek, and noticed a curious omission: the movie jumps from the beginning of WWII to its end without any details being given. The Japanese were defeated, but the movie never mentions just who did the defeating.
Still, it's damning to observe that Hollywood fare is more totalitarian minded than what churned out by the Communists.

Posted by: Brown Line at December 14, 2019 09:38 PM (S6ArX)

192 Grannymimi is 90ish?!

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:39 PM (CcUfv)

193 richard jewell won't get the exposure it should because eastwood didn't bring in a big box office star to play jewell, like tom cruise or george clooney or brad pitt.

Posted by: mjc at December 14, 2019 09:39 PM (Pg+x7)

194 Brown Line--

It's very true. It's really evident in their kids movies. They aren't trying to turn their children into trannies, e.g.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:40 PM (CcUfv)

195 The Samantha Fox?

Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at December 14, 2019 09:40 PM (PUmDY)

196 Personal note on Richard Jewel - my one surviving brother went with me to see it. He was a referee at an Olympic venue very close to Centennial Park - where the bomb exploded, and said the sets in the movie were very realistic, much like he remembered.

Posted by: An Observation at December 14, 2019 09:41 PM (l8Qs6)

197 tom cruise or george clooney or brad pitt.

Posted by: mjc at December 14, 2019 09:39 PM

Hell, they all probably still think Jewell did it.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at December 14, 2019 09:41 PM (I99aF)

198 Valerie Plame . . .
Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:34 PM (ykYG2)

Rachel Corrie....

Posted by: runner at December 14, 2019 09:41 PM (zr5Kq)

199 TQM and Bourbon, yup and yup.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:42 PM (L2ZTs)

200 My prediction is Richard Jewell takes in $25-35M (domestically), about what it cost to make, but with the distribution rights all worked out so that it doesn't lose money and Eastwood moves on to his NEXT idgaf project.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:42 PM (CcUfv)

201 The current nazi youth are more interesting

Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at December 14, 2019 09:43 PM (PUmDY)

202 How about "Sell The Zyklon And Handguns To The Killers While We Pretend To Be Neutral" ?

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:20 PM (ykYG2)

Nice beat and you can dance der polska to it!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar knows that EDKH at December 14, 2019 09:44 PM (BiNEL)

203 Hrothgar, thanks a ton! Now I'm hungry for kraut kielbasa dogs again! Arrrgghh! ;-)

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:45 PM (L2ZTs)

204 bette midler, the queen of the bath houses? that no talent hack bette midler? who gives a fuck what she has to say about a damn thing. i've dropped turds with more class.

Posted by: chavez the hugo at December 14, 2019 09:45 PM (KP5rU)

205 I think the little idiot Hogg is the son of an FBI guy, FWIW.

The same FBI that failed to do anything with the extraordinary tip they received about the nutcase garbage that murdered the kids.

Posted by: rhomboid at December 14, 2019 09:46 PM (El6T/)

206 Olivia "Booksmart" Wilde shivved "Richard Jewell" on her way out - Contrary to a swath of recent headlines, I do not believe that Kathy 'traded sex for tips.' Nothing in my research suggested she did so, and it was never my intention to suggest she had. That would be an appalling and misogynistic dismissal of the difficult work she did

Olivia, I saw that scene when you were giving the FBI agent a handy under the table at that bar. Yes, you intended to suggest that Kathy traded sex for tips. Unless that was a Stunt Hand. So quit lying already.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:46 PM (ykYG2)

207 There is a rumor that Brian Dennehy was originally cast as Richard Jewell, but he couldn't lose enough weight to play the character.

Posted by: An Observation at December 14, 2019 09:47 PM (l8Qs6)

208 Salami

Salami

Baloney

Posted by: logprof at December 14, 2019 09:47 PM (oZuI0)

209 Greta 2020: 'put 'em against the wall!!!'

Greta 2030: Workin' the pole with Stormy to make ends meet

Greta 2040: Weighs 600 pounds, can't leave bed and constantly live videoblogging on YouTube her latest crazy political thoughts

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:48 PM (L2ZTs)

210 And "the difficult work" Kathy did. You mean lying on Page One for fame and fortune?

Boy, Clint sure did a great job finding the perfect woman to play that role. A lying, social-climbing whore.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:48 PM (ykYG2)

211 I forgot, bigoted.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:48 PM (ykYG2)

212 All I want for Christmas is for women to stop having my babies.

Posted by: Hunter Biden at December 14, 2019 09:49 PM (D46E0)

213 Bette Midler/Mick Beast of Burden is not bad

Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at December 14, 2019 09:50 PM (PUmDY)

214 Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:46 PM (ykYG2)

Before the editors got to it, I believe the wording was actually

"I do not believe that Kathy 'traded sex for just the tip'."

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar knows that EDKH at December 14, 2019 09:50 PM (BiNEL)

215 qdpsteve -- The last Greta, Severn Cullis(?), is now middle-aged and has a career, I guess, as a climate activist, though nearly completely forgotten at this point.

I don't know about Thunberg because I think her mom is bats and possibly a Munchausen-by-proxy candidate.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:51 PM (CcUfv)

216 "Greta 2030: Workin' the pole with Stormy to make ends meet"

*pulls ripped in 1/2 dollar bill from g-string*

How dare you !

Posted by: "Bambi" Thunberg at December 14, 2019 09:51 PM (D46E0)

217 i've dropped turds with more class [than Midler].
Posted by: chavez the hugo

Was it an upper decker at a DC hipster restaurant?

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at December 14, 2019 09:52 PM (ykYG2)

218 I don't know about Thunberg because I think her mom is bats and possibly a I don't know about Thunberg because I think her mom is bats and possibly a Munchausen-by-proxy candidate.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 09:51 PM (CcUfv)

I'd say Mom and Pop are both prime candidates for Munchausen-by-proxy status!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar knows that EDKH at December 14, 2019 09:52 PM (BiNEL)

219 MG, from what I can tell Greta's whole family belongs in a locked ward.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 09:52 PM (L2ZTs)

220 Damn. I just thought of the mother of all "Downfall" parodies. In which actor Bruno Ganz learns that he is not going to receive royalties from all the Downfall parodies using his performance.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 14, 2019 09:53 PM (Ol3ZL)

221 Making movies about Palis is like embracing surprise anal.

Posted by: Fritz at December 14, 2019 09:53 PM (zD38/)

222 217; great idea!

Posted by: chavez the hugo at December 14, 2019 09:53 PM (KP5rU)

223 I believe a lotta DEMs secretly believe that this impeachment thing isn't going as expected-- especially the radicals. I think they thought it would gather momentum by now.

Meanwhile, the average American is learning that there isn't one Maxine Waters. There are about a dozen of them, & they're all over TV.

Did someone mention "adzholes"? Sen. Richard ("Da Nang Dick") Blumenthal confided this week that "there will be 5-10 GOP Senators voting for impeachment, at least." Stolen Valor also said that when the DEMs re-take the Senate & the WH, they'll expand the federal Courts of Appeal, & thereby nullify Trump's judicial appointments.

All that would take is a simple majority, btw. (I doan' wanna hear about a filibuster. They'll abolish that in their first 5 minutes.)

Posted by: mnw at December 14, 2019 09:53 PM (Cssks)

224 Greta 2030: Hey babe, got change for a quarter?

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar knows that EDKH at December 14, 2019 09:53 PM (BiNEL)

225 Salami

Salami

Baloney

Paging Dr. Howard, Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine.

Posted by: dartist at December 14, 2019 09:54 PM (K22Va)

226 All I want for Christmas is for women to stop having my babies.

Posted by: Hunter Biden at December 14, 2019 09:49 PM

That's not what you told me.

Posted by: Hunter Biden's Crack Dealer at December 14, 2019 09:54 PM (I99aF)

227 AOP

Ganz died, you know. He said he was saddened by all the parodies.

Posted by: mnw at December 14, 2019 09:55 PM (Cssks)

228 "Paging Dr. Howard, Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine."

Give me Hamm on Five, Hold the Mayo.

Posted by: jsg at December 14, 2019 09:56 PM (D46E0)

229 Nood...

Posted by: Slash Buzz at December 14, 2019 10:00 PM (SK+Tm)

230 Ruthless People was a good flick

Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at December 14, 2019 10:02 PM (rzXDT)

231 Cosmic, yup.
Also one of the first movies I ever bought on VHS.

Posted by: qdpsteve at December 14, 2019 10:04 PM (L2ZTs)

232 >>> Does anyone else think the Irishman movie is extremely tedious?

John Nolte has a really positive review for the Irishman, that it is looking back on the wasted potential of a life. So I might actually see it. Still love Pesci. But I am so annoyed at DeNiro and am sure his politics are is going to ruin the immersive experience.

I was definitely under 29 when the Centennial Park bombings happened. Too young to really take stock of it all and keep tabs on all the developments. I remembered the hoopla around Jewell, though I forgot his name. Am ashamed to say that when I saw the trailer I was like wait, Jewell wasnt the bomber? I had totally forgotten what really happened, the press buried the real story. Which is Clints whole point in making the film.

Wilde is such an utter lefty I am surprised she even agree to do the film in the first place.

Posted by: LizLem at December 14, 2019 10:05 PM (VjxvX)

233 Anita the redhead was great

Posted by: Cosmic Charlie at December 14, 2019 10:06 PM (PUmDY)

234 Amazon Prime's got season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Posted by: Ladyl at December 14, 2019 09:12 PM (TdMsT)

Is that some sort of a ripoff of Auntie Mame? I saw a promo for the show on the TV at the hotel, and it looks like they used the exact same font for the title text as was used in the hardback edition of the Auntie Mame books. Also, the "intrepid single woman traveling through pre-War Europe".

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 14, 2019 10:09 PM (Ol3ZL)

235 LizLem -- yeah, the press really didn't care that Jewell had been maligned.

I remember being suspicious of the charges at the time and never fully believing the official story but there was a definite press to get everyone to believe he had planted the bomb to make himself look good.

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 10:09 PM (CcUfv)

236 My washing machine decided to break down this past week. It couldn't have broken down on or right after black friday. Too much to ask. To top it off we'll have a ten day wait for delivery. So the mountains of laundry are slowly but steadily building.

But yet, all in all it makes me realize how amazingly blessed I am to live in the USA while Trump is President, the UK told the left to f*off, our stock market is yuuuge and if Brexit goes through will be even more so, the state of Virginia is blanketing themselves into 2nd sanctuary havens, capitalism still reigns supreme and I can buy a freaking brand new super duper large capacity washing machine of the color of my choice unhindered by the commie and environazis scum!

Posted by: Floridachick at December 14, 2019 10:10 PM (TzmYC)

237 Ganz died, you know. He said he was saddened by all the parodies.
Posted by: mnw at December 14, 2019 09:55 PM (Cssks)

Yes, I know. But the parodies probably made the film itself sell more.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 14, 2019 10:18 PM (Ol3ZL)

238 *american flag emoji*

Posted by: moviegique at December 14, 2019 10:19 PM (CcUfv)

239 May have to treat myself to the Richard Jewell movie tomorrow. I remember it vividly, fvck wads. So sad.

Posted by: Infidel at December 14, 2019 10:24 PM (O/X1S)

240 Posted by: Floridachick at December 14, 2019 10:10 PM (TzmYC)

May I subscribe to your newsletter and buy you your adult beverage of choice?

Posted by: Infidel at December 14, 2019 10:26 PM (O/X1S)

241 FFS
This voice recognition on the phone doesn't seem to work so great. My wife is Jules. Not Joel. How the f*** did they come up with that? Anyway we are enjoying the M&M cookies and I'm glad other people appreciate them, they f****** rock.

Jules did an interesting Twist on that that should you use the new M&M caramel balls in bars and made a pan of that. It was excellent. I took some into the doctors that fix my broken ankle this year and they loved it. I don't think many people appreciate the doctors like that.

Posted by: Farmer at December 15, 2019 12:57 AM (SNjR4)

242 82. I just watched Bruce Dern film a movie here in El Paso back in October!
Dern is still hale and hardy -he's 82 or so and has a little bit of trouble getting around, but he still as sardonic and funny as hell as ever and everyone here on the crew loved him.
He told a friend of mine about filming "Hang Em High" back in 1967 with his old buddy Clint Eastwood just up the road in Las Cruces, NM back in 1967.

Just saw "Richard Jewell" last night and it was great, btw..

Posted by: TexasJew at December 15, 2019 06:29 AM (c+cGk)

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