Friday
Nov022012
What's playing in your movie-addled brain?
Friday, November 2, 2012 at 8:02AM 
"tell me about it... stud"There's been such an eery silence the past couple of days in the comments that I worry that 90% of you readers actually live in New Jersey and Staten Island and are totally without power. If so our prayers are with you. I have power so this weekend Oscar chart updates and lots of movie watching for me. Hitchcock today, actually!
For the rest of you with power, free of the ravages of Sandy on the East Coast, what's on your cinematic mind?
Reader Comments (20)
I live in Spain, so my only contact with Sandy, besides watching the news, is that my tablet issue of EW is delayed. I hope you NY guys are all well.
I went to see Skyfall last night and was so disappointed! I still think Casino Royale is the best Bond ever. This one is sober, dark and stylish but not memorable. Also my movie-addled brain is constantly playing a Les Miz tune. I'm dying to see the new trailer, aren't you?
I'm going to see "The Master" on Monday here in London, and it's been a long wait, but at least I will get to see it in 70mm!
Also on Monday I'm going to the Hollywood Costume exhibit at the V&A Museum, which looks just incredible. It is going to be a good day.
I just read the Robert Altman chapter of Ebert's memoir, so he's on my mind. But then, he almost always is.
I also saw that the anti-Obama doc is opening where I live today. That, naturally, is not for me, but it has me remembering Fahrenheit 9/11 and how that film experience felt.
I am thining about how I have six movies that I want to see in theaters right now and can't figure out which ones to hit (Looper, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wreck-It Ralph, Flight, Cloud Atlas, and Seven Psychopaths). My Oscar completist side is probably leaning toward Flight, but anyone have any recommendations?
This whole Disney: Star Wars thing!!! Could be really great or really bad :(
John T: I've seen Looper and Perks from your list, and I think Looper is really must-see. However, if you're listening to your Oscar completist, you need only really see Flight.
Jodie Foster to be honored wth Cecil B. DeMille Award? Really?
I saw Cloud Atlas last week and it's lingering in my mind.
Two things that surprised me about it were that it was such an action movie, yet I wasn't bored at the action sequences like I was at movies all summer because the action sequences were short and actually had something to do with the narrative.
The second thing was how still and absorbed the audience was in the last hour. The theatre we saw it in was full, and totally ADD before the screening. I'd resigned myself to a noisy crowd. But it was one of the most attentive audiences I've been in for a while.
John T: Avoid Looper—a jumbled mess of interesting ideas that resolves itself unsatisfactory. The subplot is creepy-annoying child driven—you've been warned.
Jennifer Jones smiling while clumsily dancing with Fred Astaire during the early happier party segment in The Towering Inferno.
I keep wondering, "whatever happened to Imogene?"
John T: Looper was decent but it's not the must-see that everyone has made it out to be. Perks was better than I thought it would be and might be worth a matinee. Cloud Atlas was enjoyable and surprisingly coherent for a movie with six story lines.
Anyway, I'm PARTIALLY with Jamie. The Star Wars thing has been my main cinematic focus for that last few days but I'm far more optimistic about it than not. Sure, it could turn out bad and the new films could be directed by Michael Bay but I'm just excited about the possibilities this creates.
John T: I've seen Looper and Perks from your list and loved both. But I'm pretty much in your shoes... so many films to watch but no time/money to see them all. Will probably check out Argo, Cloud Atlas, and Flight soon. I hope at least.
I went to a preview screening of Out of the Furnace a couple weeks ago in SF and was beyond disappointed. The cast was superb, besides Casey Affleck (why do they keep trying to make him a tough guy), and I think that was the ultimate downfall. I don't think you can put an amazing/high-profile cast in a movie that exaggerates gritty-white-trailerpark-trash America. Part of the reason I believe Winter's Bone worked so well was due to it's rather low-profile actors (at the time) that helped the story's back-woods, poverty-ridden credibility. Furnace exploited Bone's formula but failed to resonate as potently. Again, the acting was great - I loved having all these actors in one movie - but there was just something way off, over the top, and at the same time underwhelming in the story and style. I'd give it a 'C'.
It was my first time going to an advanced screening of a film still in post-production so I have no idea how rough this cut was but it needs some serious work if it wants to make an Oscar impact next year, which it more than obviously looks like it is striving for.
Other than that, I'm going to see a slew of movies this week/end: 7 Psychopaths, The Sessions, Cloud Atlas, Flight, and Argo (possibly Wreck-it Ralph or Frankenweenie). I am worried that I will be eating all my Oscar Halloween candy too fast - I tend to do this every year. I binge on a bunch of long-awaited, potentially good movies too close in proximity to one another and this sometimes results in not appreciating all of them fully...ever happen to you?
Lastly, when are we going get Nat's reaction/review to The Master (have you seen it yet)?
I want to see "Hitchcock"... I want it so badly!
It will be at least "interesting" to see the recreation of some scenes of "Psycho" (THAT shower scene!). Hopkins, Mirren, Johansson and Collette in it... I'm waiting for your review, Nathaniel :)
Just saw "Flight" ... excellent movie... although I am definitely not a fan of Denzel Washington, I think he does deserve an Oscar nod for this performance .. I have not seen other male actor's performances yet ... so I need to really wait before jumping to this conclusion.
I saw an ad for Lincoln the other day and I just feel totally uninterested in it so I've been trying to think of biopics I would actually like to see made and I have decided that I want Wes Anderson to make a partly-animated Jules Verne biopic.
Also I'm looking forward to seeing Cloud Atlas next week!
Cloud Atlas. Nathaniel, your opinion is required!
Have you seen this Nathaniel?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAGU0__47vI
Charlize is awesome.
I live in New Jersey but my Sandy experience was not on a Irwin Allen disaster scale- well more like on his made for tv productions. I did not have electricity or heat for almost a week and yeah candlelight is very romantic in the movies in real life it sucks.