I watched Jerry Maguire for the first time today. I have to say, I really enjoyed it for what it was and Tom Cruise proves to be endlessly watchable despite everything. Regina King is brilliant as usual and Jonathan Lipnicki is great as far as child actors go. Didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did.
@Arugula Feeling in the mood for being socially conscious, I went ahead and gave Just Mercy a spin. Thanks for the recommendation.
It’s a really good movie. Certainly it’s very timely with the current state of events in the U.S. and I guess it’s a nice gesture to offer it for free. I’d encourage everyone to give it two hours of your time. First off, it will be an enjoyable watch because of the great acting, solid production, and interesting true story. Secondly, it helps to keep abreast of the BLM efforts and supporting a good cause by keeping informed. I’m not always a fan of movies that have political or social themes because they can come off as preachy or exaggerated, which ends up undermining the good causes they are trying to accomplish. Here in Just Mercy I think they strike a good balance. It prompted me to investigate and do a little googling afterward to read up on the characters and events and it seems an accurate representation of Stevenson and McMillian’s case - as well as the situation in 1980’s Alabama.
If I’d have watched this a year ago when it came out then it likely would not have resonated quite as strongly as it does now with how things have unfolded in society.
I like how the film helped to expose some of the corruption that has existed in the Deep South, but also how it champions individuals like those in the Equal Justice Initiative who have been laboring to change the status quo.
Not to mention, we get to have Captain Marvel, Killmonger, and Electro all on screen together. 😜
But seriously, if you like true story films, it’s a good one. Especially if you like legal battle related dramas and are curious to delve into the social injustice scene in America. I do wonder if you British and European folk will struggle to understand the accurately depicted American Southern accents. We’ve discussed this before here and I think most of you all do fine with interpreting the very modified form of English that exists in places like Alabama, but even I struggle sometimes to piece together the local dialect. But otherwise, I think you’ll come out the other side of the film edified by the message and content. The movie might serve as a timely call to action that could motivate those who are on the outskirts of the issues at hand.
Edit: oops... I just now caught up on reading the chit-chat thread and see that the forum is taking a much needed break from politics talk. I didn’t intend to try to stir the pot with my mini-review above, rather I was inclined to share a satisfactory cinema experience.
@Th3solution I don't see any pot stirring. No reason you shouldn't review a movie and talk about the subject matter a bit just because I ticked someone off.
Anyway, yeah, Just Mercy was excellent... and infuriating. It's pretty historically accurate, too.
"It was ironic to have people in the community tell me, 'You’re a lawyer, you should go to the "To Kill a Mockingbird" Museum,'" Stevenson says. "I had the same response every time: 'I'd love to, but I’m really busy freeing an innocent black man who has been wrongly convicted of a crime and facing execution.' The disconnect between romanticizing that story and indifference to injustice in a real wrongful conviction, that very much parallels my story."
Currently Playing: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (NS2); Corpse Factory (PC)
@Ralizah (Knowing you won’t read this for a little while but hopefully eventually) Thanks for the link. It’s an interesting quick read. I’m fascinated by true stories. Real life is often stranger than fiction.
Another quote from Stevenson I enjoyed:
“I told Michael the one area where he didn't have to be authentic was my body. He didn't have to lose the "Black Panther"/"Creed" body. He could keep all of those abs to play me.” 😂
So on that lighter note —
Have you all ever thought about what actor you’d choose to play you if your life story was made into film?
I’m not sure if there is an actor handsome and buff enough to play me.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger As I'm short I get the usual hobbit and oompa loompa remarks. When I had blond spiky hair everyone used to say I looked like ex F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@RogerRoger Yeah, the funniest one that I ever heard was that I favor Arnold Swarzenegger (no lie), which of course is preposterous ...my biceps are much bigger than his.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@nessisonett@LN78@Draco_V_Ecliptic I watched Dark City last night which is one of my all time faves. It's a Sci-Fi Neo-Noir which has become bit of a cult classic. It was flipping brilliant! Obviously the CGI does not hold up to today's standards, but I can remember it putting my head in a proper twist when I first saw it. I understood it a lot, lot better this time round. I reccomend watching the director's cut as the studio made the director put in a narration at the beginning which literally explains what happens in the film, due to test audiences not understanding the plot. It also has a bit of a Cthulhu vibe about but just to say that I feel is a massive spoiler to where the film ends up.
@JohnnyShoulder Love this film, one of my faves and the Directors cut was just the icing on the cake. Did a lot of interesting things but came out so close to the Matrix I think it gets drowned out. Very rare to see films of that scope and complexity these days.
Now I may be an idiot, but there's one thing I am not sir, and that sir, is an idiot
@LN78@Rudy_Manchego Yeah for sure. Kind of reminds me of The Twilight Zone. A lot films that year got drowned out by Titanic. I believe The Matrix was delayed a few times too, would have been interesting if it had been released the previous year. I rented it as I wasn't sure if it would hold up, but apart from the special effects i think it did. I think there is a slim chance of this getting the 4k treatment so might be worth picking the blu ray.
Didn't realise it was from the same director as The Crow, another fave of mine.
@LN78 Have you really met Guy Pearce? Wow. Don't see much of him these days. Think we've spoken about it before but Memento is such an amazing film. And another noir movie to add to the list!
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@JohnnyShoulder Honestly hadn’t heard of that movie before, it’s a shame it seems to have been drowned out by The Matrix though. I do love Rufus Sewell, I’ll give it a look!
@nessisonett Definitely worth 2 hours of your time. It's shame cos i think Sewell has been negative on his performance since, but it did kind of ruin his career. Also has the perfect casting of Richard O'Brien as the main antagonist Mr Hand.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
I watched Knives Out and despite the teething problems trying to run 4K movies through my laptop onto the TV, it was really something special. Honestly one of the best mystery movies I’ve seen in a long time. Amazing to think it was Rian Johnson considering I hated both Looper and that Star Wars movie.
@Arugula I've preferred the spin off films to any of the last trilogy films , although not seen Rise yet. But shame doesn't look we will be getting any more. At least th tv shows have gotten off to a good start, and we will be getting more of those.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
I really liked Solo to be honest, it tried way less than the sequel trilogy and so it felt a lot more laid back and fun. Donald Glover was great as Lando and it’s kinda funny that Fleabag is seemingly making dirty jokes inside the Millennium Falcon for all eternity.
I watched Excalibur, everyone, highly enjoyable film. I thought the evil character of Mordred was a cool piece of writing for a villain, and everyone acted their parts appropriately, Excalibur itself is a great symbol of England and Ancient Legend, and the battles were something out of an action RPG!.
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
Just saw Gemini Man. What a naff movie. Didn't realise it was shot at 60fps which made everything look a bit low budget, even though the actual visual quality is really good in 4k. V strange and glad it is not the norm.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
Watched I, Tonya tonight. It was really great, both Alison Janney and Margot Robbie were brilliant and sold those performances. I really liked the way it was filmed too, muted colours combined with the horrid ice skating outfits. It’s not something I really knew about but my mum remembers watching the coverage at the time so it was pretty funny reading up on what was an absolute disaster from start to finish. I do think the movie portrayed Tonya Harding in a slightly better light than I expected, you really understand the reasons behind what happened but it’s still not fully known if she was complicit or not. It’s definitely worth a watch.
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