I loved it. One of the best movies of the year.

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Believe it or not, there was a time when Hollywood could tell a story as well as any filmmaker in Hong Kong or Wakaliwood.

That time was a recent as:

Spoiler:

1976

And an example would be:

Spoiler:

The Bad News Bears

Misfit children: Check!
Ex-ballplayer pool-cleaner Little League coach who pulls out a short-dog and tops off his can of Bud (while driving his Caddy convertible (which has been modified to serve as pickup truck by the removal of the trunk lid)): Check!
Vicious Fear-Strikes-Out father type enemy coach: Check!
(I have to pause these literary endeavors here and ask if they still have these guys as Little League coaches? I certainly remember them,,,)
Underdogs KO’d in the first round: Check!
Supernumerary misfits, including blonde girl fastballer and 11-y.o.-Harley-riding-ex-con Jock to the rescue: Check!
Big Game Finale: Check!
Life Lessons Learned: Check!
Kids Wiser than Adults: Check!
Greatest Ending Line in cinema: Check!

You forgot to sign the check!: Chico’s Bail Bonds, Denny’s, Pizza Hut!
Jews, Specs, Knickers and now you add a girl!: Big wow!
Don’t jump in, you’ll flood the Valley!: Ahh-Madd’s climbed the tree and he’s not coming down!

Practically every line from this movie is quotable.

It’s a film about children. It turns out that children are smart, tough and resilient. Perhaps the best film score in baseball movies, by some guy named Bizet (who I think may have originally worked for Bugs Bunny). Holds up after 47 years. Check it out! Memorize the lines!

A while back at the home game, we were discussing classic movies which absolutely would not be ok'd if pitched today (assuming they'd be filmed as-is).

From that era, The Bad News Bears and Blazing Saddles came immediately to mind.

I saw Barbie a few days ago and I am shocked that there is praise for the movie in this thread. Ryan Gosling's and Margot Robbie's charisma really carried the entire movie, as it was otherwise no good. It is the worst written movie I have seen since Amsterdam last year.

yes, good suspense-romance movie.

Odd things in the movie:

1)At one point in the film, detective Hae-jun faces a runaway criminal who’s wielding a knife, and the detective carefully pulls out and dons a single chainmail glove to defend himself!

2) the detective has insomnia and uses eyedrops often to see better and has extra pockets in his clothes with various objects, he is obsessed with police work and also obsessed with with the sweet beauty, Seo-rae, in a Hitchockian way ( it would have been wild if they made that character blonde).

3)the key ending scene event is an original idea in movies as far as I know and I'm still scratching my head about it whether that ever happens in real life. avoiding spoilers.

Watched Bad News Bears twice in one weekend a few weeks ago. Just flipping around on consecutive days and had to watch. Even texted this to my brother:

It’s the ****ing best.

lol big time

Boiling Point - I watched this on a whim because it had Stephen Graham in it, who I'm a big fan of, and boy I'm glad I did! It follows a single night in a high-end London restaurant, which admittedly doesn't sound all that interesting, but I was riveted throughout. It was all done in a single shot too, which can feel a little gimmicky these days imo, but I think it really enhances the experience here. The entire cast is great, but especially Graham. If you like The Bear, you should love this. Highly recommended.

The criterion channel has a retrospective of director Hal Hartley this month. 30 films including some shorts. I cannot wait to see some of the ones that I haven't seen yet. He's one of my favorite independent filmmakers.

And Adrienne Shelly was an absolute treasure.

Dom, I've only seen Henry Fool a long time ago. Any recommendations?

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Shaolin Soccer (2001) Reconsidered

Missed PAT engenders Team Evil: Check!
Dastardly Villain breaks promise!: Check!
Fusion of Mind To Foot: People’s-Republic Kung-Fu Promo Man to the rescue!


Let’s try: Kung Fu Parking, Kung Fu Banana Peels, Kung Fu Hedge Clipping, Kung Fu Folk Trio: Nope!!!
Kung Fu Soccer!!!
Tai Chi Dumplings: Sweeties!!!
Form a team with: Misfits!
Scrimmage with a gang and gang joins team!: Even more Misfits!!!
Bring on Team Evil!: These American drugs work better than expected! (I’d love to unpack the modifier ‘American’ in terms of geo-political propaganda!)
Dumpling Girl: Magic Sneakers!
Tai Chi Dumplings => Taifun Goalie!
This time the GoodGuys Win!!!

“Expiate originally referred to warding off evil by using sacred rites, or to using sacred rites to cleanse or purify something.” -- Merriam Webster
Sacred rites vary from country to country, from culture to culture. The closest thing America has to a sacred rite is baseball--or even better, Little League Baseball, but in other parts of the world it is soccer. A team of misfits wins the championship and a coach is redeemed. Check it out!

P.S. We won’t have truly inclusive Academy Awards until we have an Oscar for Facial Expressions.

The Unbelievable Truth
Trust
Simple Men

Are his Long Island trilogy. Very low budget, very indie, with lots of talking. I love them.

The monster one with Sarah Polley is also great.

Two of my favorite films are My Night at Maud's and My Dinner With Andre. Some complain they are just movies with people talking. But isn't sitting with someone and talking great?

I will watch that Long Island Trilogy.

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I have always been confused by my love for these two movies and my love for silent movies that are nothing but pure action. How can I reconcile this? I am not sure why I would even want to, but recognizing it keeps me off my high horse when I am discussing movies.

Simple Men is the only one I have seen. Hartley can be really hard to find. I am glad Criterion is doing this.

This isn't really a talking movie, but the first time I became aware that the dialogue in movies could be used in different ways was when I saw A Man For All Seasons, which I probably have seen ~20 times in the last 55 years.

This movie is such a gem, absolute entertainment. There’s an English dubbed version that’s pretty hard to find because Chow has buried it (because he never wanted to do the dub). However, it definitely adds another layer of hilarity to the chaos.

I do think the original audio is the superior version, but it’s a shame you can’t find the goofy English dub anywhere.

If you love Kung Fu Hustle, definitely check out this earlier entry in Chow’s filmography.

I think I may have seen one of the dubbed versions years ago. This is all from memory, but I think there may have been two: a British version and an American version, but what sticks in my mind is that they had different sound tracks. I think the one I saw was the one with the so-called "good" music. I could easily google all this but am trying to train myself not to go down any movie rabbit holes.

I agree that this is a gem. I think without this, Kung Fu Hustle doesn't get made. Chow experiments with a lot of inventive ideas in Soccer.

The September 5 version of the Star Talk Radiopodcast discusses Oppenheimer. Neil DeGrasse Tyson discusses the film with the co author of the book on which the movie is based.

Might be worth a listen for those who enjoyed the movie.

The Farewell was a really nice story. I think it's a pretty difficult story to tell and they definitely pulled it off. Really touching, funny, and also an interesting look at a decision which I would not want made for me, but would go along with it if someone asked me to after they made that decision for someone else.

Only negative for me is that they seemed to pad the runtime with literal running. Well running/walking/driving. I don't know why, it would have been even better at 90 minutes than 100 imo.

Michael Winterbottom's quartet of the Trip films, starring Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden, playing versions of themselves, are both funny and poignant. The first film, The Trip, featured the pair in England's Lake District, going to out of the way restaurants, ostensibly to write a food column. Along the way, they do some great impersonations, particularly of Michael Caine. Subsequent films take them to Spain, Italy, and Greece. Although the films seem like documentaries at first, they also employ fiction. The actors play versions of themselves, with Bryden worrying about and missing his family at home. Coogan never quite seems at home in the world. He has seen relationships crumble, but as the pair retrace Odysseus's journey, Coogan goes home in the final film, A Trip to Greece.

And I'm not sure why Winterbottom isn't mentioned in the same league as more well known directors.

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The Magnificent Seven (1960). The original and the best. Keep your hat on it is a grand ride. I just purchased the DVD. So I can rewatch any time I want.

I know this is the movie thread, but I think you'd enjoy the show 'Staged', if you have a chance to see it. It has very a similar vibe and humour, but it's Michael Sheen and David Tennant playing fictionalised versions of themselves, as they try to rehearse for a play over Zoom because of covid lockdowns.

It's a great remake. I especially like the scene in which Robert Vaughn catches the flies and says, "At one time I would have had all three."

John Sturges was a great director, and the beginning of The Magnificent Seven and Bad Day at Black Rock reveal his commitment to social justice.

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