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Post by guttersnipe on Apr 5, 2020 11:34:06 GMT -8
I absolutely love that film, and it didn't occur to me until you said slow-paced that I noticed the list omits The Man from London, which is practically glacial by comparison.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 5, 2020 14:49:15 GMT -8
I like the book it's adapted from (Pop. 1,280) quite a bit. Maybe I shouldn't have watched the film so soon after reading the book (since it draws heavily from the source material), but that's the way these classes are structured.
And I've seen plenty of slower films than Coup de Torchon; maybe the pacing just wears on me more in non-English films.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 12, 2020 16:56:53 GMT -8
The new Simpsons short is up on Disney Plus!
It's pretty cute. Like Longest Daycare, it's a perfect five-minute length, no dialogue (unless you count a brief joke involving a Speak-N-Spell), and a good vehicle for Maggie. The idea of a romance between a pair of one-year-olds is... frankly pretty gross, but the short knows how to play it up for laughs without being crude, in classic Simpsons tradition.
Only question: Will it win the Oscar? I'm kind of hoping it will, just to see all the "Simpsons is still on?" reactions that will result.
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Post by guttersnipe on Apr 18, 2020 11:07:02 GMT -8
Thanks for spreading the good news, as that is in fact a global release - though I'm not sure that a five-minute short solely justifies me making (ab?)use of a trial, though the idea of The World According to Jeff Goldblum does sound endearing.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 18, 2020 18:04:22 GMT -8
I watched part of the TWAtJG premiere a while ago. Not particularly educational, though it's kind of amusing for the bemused reaction Jeff Goldblum has to learning new things about trivial matters.
Thus far, none of Disney Plus' original shows have been particularly impressive. The Mandalorian, as I've stated elsewhere, is handsomely produced but fairly routine (even the Taika Waititi-directed finale plays it pretty safe), and most of their other series feel like placeholders. I do enjoy the Toy Story spin-off Forky Asks a Question, which is well-animated and modestly funny. No clue if it's getting a second season, though.
Right now, I'm mostly subscribed to D+ for the backlog (particularly the dozens of Marvel TV shows).
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Post by guttersnipe on Apr 20, 2020 6:44:32 GMT -8
Not particularly educational, though it's kind of amusing for the bemused reaction Jeff Goldblum has to learning new things about trivial matters. That's exactly what I was hoping for.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 20, 2020 17:32:40 GMT -8
On an unrelated note, last night's Simpsons was a direct followup to the short film! That may help explain why Disney started streaming the short so soon.
(There was also a depressingly timely chalkboard gag.)
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Post by guttersnipe on Apr 23, 2020 13:43:31 GMT -8
That's a point - I could probably use a trial to watch the new season, and that would more than justify it. Given that there's four more episodes to go and I don't return to work until the start of June, I reckon I now know how I'll be using that last week.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 23, 2020 16:02:49 GMT -8
So I don't actually know when the new season of Simpsons will be available on the Plus. Typically Disney Channel shows start streaming about 30 days after the season concludes. Assuming that rule extends to other shows, we probably won't get Season 31 of The Simpsons on Disney+ till the end of June.
On another note, apparently the show is doing a two-part episode over the next two weeks? Something they haven't done since "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" 25 years ago. At least it won't be a finale cliffhanger this time.
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Post by guttersnipe on Apr 24, 2020 15:46:11 GMT -8
Ah yes, that seems to be the case here also.
Wasn't The Great Phatsby broadcast as two episodes a couple of years back?
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 25, 2020 19:02:57 GMT -8
"Great Phatsby" aired as a one-hour episode. It's featured that way on Disney Plus, though I assume it was broken into two episodes for syndication.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 27, 2020 16:59:30 GMT -8
Finally saw Goodfellas the other day. The first half of the film is highly entertaining, but at a certain point (around the "Four Years Later" time jump) it starts to drag. There's an interesting story, well-told, but despite being an hour shorter than The Irishman, it still feels overlong.
The cast is great, with Lorraine Bracco particularly excellent in what could have been a one-note love interest role. (Joe Pesci is very good too, but his character begins to wear thin after a spell.) It's fun trying to spot all the future Sopranos stars, although if the credits are any indication, I appear to have missed Big Pussy.
One extra caveat: It is impossible for me to hear the film's narration without thinking of Squit from Animaniacs. Not the film's fault, but it did throw me out of the story a bit. Anyhow, pretty good overall, but not one of my favorite Scorsese flicks.
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Post by ThirdMan on Apr 27, 2020 20:26:32 GMT -8
At some point, you'll probably have to come to the conclusion that you're not really into crime/gangster fiction. It's clear you admire The Sopranos more than you like it.
Someone who isn't that into superhero fiction would have similar thoughts as yours above about, say, Avengers: Endgame.
Goodfellas DOES slow down in its latter sections, reflecting the ultimately sobering effects of the criminal lifestyle. You ride the high, until you come crashing down to Earth. And then you're just a putz, assuming you're not already dead.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 28, 2020 5:59:25 GMT -8
True, it's not my favorite genre. I like some of the old crime fiction I've come across, but mobster stories have never been my favorite. Still, I've been gripped by films of all different genres (and Goodfellas did grip me at several points); depends on a variety of factors. I would have definitely liked The Irishman more if the runtime had been trimmed a bit.
Still, I've liked most of the Scorsese films I've seen (seven thus far), and will probably watch more soon.
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Post by ThirdMan on Apr 28, 2020 10:58:04 GMT -8
Oh, The Irishman definitely didn't need to be as long as it was. It hits many of the same dramatic beats too many times, particularly towards the end. That's the downside of Netflix giving Scorsese so much creative freedom: he and his actors got a little self-indulgent.
Re: Goodfellas, I don't think the actual plot is re-inventing the wheel, but what I really enjoy about it is the level of detail, and humour, in the day-to-day operations of these thugs. Scorsese's one of the few filmmakers to use voice-over narration in a genuinely compelling and purposeful way, rather than just as a lazy creative crutch (overtly spelling out the basic plot or characters' inner thoughts). That said, I don't find Ray Liotta to be all that compelling as a singular performer: fortunately, it's very much an ensemble piece.
Re: Scorsese's oeuvre, I don't think you'll like Raging Bull. It leans really heavily on the repetitive, boorish, self-destructive behaviour of its protagonist, and unlike the Travis Bickle character in Taxi Driver (which you were lukewarm on), Jake LaMotta barely possesses an ounce of humility or self-awareness.
You may enjoy The Departed. DiCaprio, Damon, and Wahlberg are good, and Nicholson really chews the scenery (as always).
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