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  • Being The Ricardos. Sorkin does a Lucille Ball biopic in the style of that terrible fucking Steve Jobs movie. Bizarre casting on this thing. Kidman cast as Lucille Ball because she has red hair. Yes, she is10 years too old and no, she hasnever shown a lick of comedic ability BUT she does have red hair. You can't get away from that. To compensate for Ball being 10 years to old they cast Bardem as Ricky because he's 10 years too old too. They then cast an age appropriate Ethel which makes some other dynamics feel off.

    Anyway, very much in the style of the jobs movie. Everything feels like little vignettes with a truly odd framing device of a documentary being filmed about Lucy which makes the whole thing feel like a documentary rather than a film. Very uncinematic.

    Still... I grew up with the I Love Lucy show. I don't believe I've ever seen Ball not playing a character and so have no idea what she was like. I hope she and Desi were like this. Not the worst couple to spend a couple hours with.
    "Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.

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    • Dom, if you're interested in Lucy, you should by all means check out The Plot Thickens, a TCM podcast. Season 3 was Lucy and it's awesome. Hope you can access it down under.

      https://theplotthickens.tcm.com/
      I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.

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      • Originally posted by Andrew Monroe View Post
        Dom, if you're interested in Lucy, you should by all means check out The Plot Thickens, a TCM podcast. Season 3 was Lucy and it's awesome. Hope you can access it down under.

        https://theplotthickens.tcm.com/
        Always on the lookout for a new podcast. Cheers!
        "Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.

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        • NFL games and college bowl games. 24 of the latter are on next week. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
          "The popcorn you're eating has been pissed in. Film at 11".

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          • Originally posted by Dom D View Post
            Still... I grew up with the I Love Lucy show. I don't believe I've ever seen Ball not playing a character and so have no idea what she was like. I hope she and Desi were like this. Not the worst couple to spend a couple hours with.
            Most historical and biographical material I have read about Lucille Ball paints a picture of a ruthless, temperamental, vindictive person who simply did whatever it took to get to the top and stay there for as long as she could, and would basically end up in something resembling Mommy Dearest if a straight-up biopic that didn't sand down the edges were to be made, so I am not shocked to hear Sorkin just made a Great Moments in Lucy History instead of a proper effort, especially with the things about him that have come to light it is likely down to him making bios for others the way he hopes anyone making one on him will just highlight the positives.

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            • Two Weeks in Another Town (Vincente Minelli, 1962). Cinecitta is the real madhouse. With Daliah Lavi, Dracula Cha-cha-cha, and an Edward G. Robinson handjob scene. Sweet follow-up to The Bad and the Beautiful.

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              • CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT - One of my favorites. It kinda seems like this one flies under the radar, It's one of the funniest romantic comedies, and also a terrific Christmas film. And hey, it's a rare likeable role for Sydney Greenstreet. S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall also in the cast just seals the deal.
                I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.

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                • A buddy was telling me to watch Christmas in Connecticut last night.

                  Currently we got on the 6 episodes of Night Court Laff aired last night and today. It's the last season and I don't remember most of these.

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                  • Big fan of CHRISTMAS IN CONN as well, love Babs. Currently watching the MST3K version of SANTA CLAUS (1959) while wrapping, or as i like to call it, Santa vs. Pitch: There'll be hell to pay. Heheh, 'If holiday depression has a soundtrack, this is it.'

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                    • The Matrix (USA, 1999) [VoD] - 4.5/5
                      The action has lost some of its edge, but the storyline and the neo-noir visual approach are still pure dynamite.

                      The Matrix Reloaded (USA, 2003) [VoD] - 1.5/5
                      An embarrassing mess without a single good scene in it.

                      The Matrix Revolutions (USA, 2003) [VoD] - 3/5
                      Contrary to the popular opinion, I'd say this is notably more watchable than Reloaded. Not a great film, but the action seems more meaningful because this is the decisive battle, unlike Reloaded where there is no reason to care about anything that happens in the film.

                      The Matrix Resurrections (USA, 2021) [DCP] - 2/5
                      A frustrating pseudo-intelligent deconstruction of The Matrix with constant self-commentary and breaking the 4th wall combined with cheap nostalgia in form of recycled scenes from the originals. It comes out as a desperate attempt to appear clever, likely to appeal to viewers who don't know the trick has been done to death in cinema for decades already. The film even fails to repeat old strengths: the action scenes for instance are now Jason Bourne style chaos with bad camerawork and 100 cuts a minute. There is some bullet time as well, seemingly filmed with extra frames as these bits have the same non-cinematic look that TV's motion interpolation produces. Some have called the film a woke mess, but I wouldn't necessarily go that far though there are certainly some bits in that alley, including a verbal joke at the end that made me laugh out loud. The new cast is awful, however. What's good here is Reeves, Moss, and the interaction between them. It's great, they are great, and that should've been the sole focus of the film. One gets the impression that the core storyline here could have produced something worthwhile had it been stripped of the embarrassing junior high school level meta cleverness and clumsy nostalgia, and executed straight.
                      Takuma
                      Senior Member
                      Last edited by Takuma; 12-25-2021, 01:49 PM.

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by Takuma View Post
                        The Matrix (USA, 1999) [VoD] - 4.5/5
                        The action has lost some of its edge, but the storyline and the neo-noir visual approach are still pure dynamite.

                        The Matrix Reloaded (USA, 2003) [VoD] - 1.5/5
                        An embarrassing mess without a single good scene in it.

                        The Matrix Revolutions (USA, 2003) [VoD] - 3/5
                        Contrary to the popular opinion, I'd say this is notably more watchable than Reloaded. Not a great film, but the action seems more meaningful because this is the decisive battle, unlike Reloaded where there is no reason to care about anything that happens in the film.

                        The Matrix Resurrections (USA, 2021) [DCP] - 2/5
                        A frustrating pseudo-intelligent deconstruction of The Matrix with constant self-commentary and breaking the 4th wall combined with cheap nostalgia in form of recycled scenes from the originals. It comes out as a desperate attempt to appear clever, likely to appeal to viewers who don't know the trick has been done to death in cinema for decades already. The film even fails to repeat old strengths: the action scenes for instance are now Jason Bourne style chaos with bad camerawork and 100 cuts a minute. There is some bullet time as well, seemingly filmed with extra frames as these bits have the same non-cinematic look that TV's motion interpolation produces. Some have called the film a woke mess, but I wouldn't necessarily go that far though there are certainly some bits in that alley, including a verbal joke at the end that made me laugh out loud. The new cast is awful, however. What's good here is Reeves, Moss, and the interaction between them. It's great, they are great, and that should've been the sole focus of the film. One gets the impression that the core storyline here could have produced something worthwhile had it been stripped of the embarrassing junior high school level meta cleverness and clumsy nostalgia, and executed straight.
                        The problem with The Matrix series is that according to the Wachowskis in interviews at the time the first movie was released, is that The Matrix was originally the END of the trilogy.

                        That's right, the movie they made FIRST was supposed to be the LAST part of the story. Warner liked their pitch, but wouldn't commit to the projected budget to do the movies in order, so they decided to make the final part since it could be done cheaply. Neo's speech at the end of the movie is a declaration of victory, since The One waking up would allow the matrix to be beaten from the inside. Problem there is that Warner made insane money off the movie, and demanded the cast be brought back for sequels, when the only character present in all three original screenplays was Mobius.

                        Then there is the problem caused by The First Renaissance, the short from The Animatrix that tells the story that was the original Part One. Basically, mankind caused their own destruction in the world of the matrix by being assholes and attacking a peaceful machine nation unprovoked.

                        After watching The Animatrix, I had no desire to see the sequels, as humanity got what it deserved, and seriously, the ending of The Matrix was a great ending because there was no need to show all the details, Neo awakening meant that the system was totally vulnerable and the war was over before it could begin, which was why the system was so aggressive in hunting down and killing hackers, it knew that there was potential for one to see through the code and that once one did, it would be done, as nothing the system can do would be able to stop such an individual.

                        Honestly, once Neo beats the Agents, it would be maybe an hour for the whole matrix to be shut down.

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Darcy Parker View Post
                          The problem with The Matrix series is that according to the Wachowskis in interviews at the time the first movie was released, is that The Matrix was originally the END of the trilogy.

                          That's right, the movie they made FIRST was supposed to be the LAST part of the story. Warner liked their pitch, but wouldn't commit to the projected budget to do the movies in order, so they decided to make the final part since it could be done cheaply. Neo's speech at the end of the movie is a declaration of victory, since The One waking up would allow the matrix to be beaten from the inside. Problem there is that Warner made insane money off the movie, and demanded the cast be brought back for sequels, when the only character present in all three original screenplays was Mobius.
                          I've never come across this before. Where did you get the behind the scenes gos? I'd always thought the Matrix was just suppossed to be a sole film. If this is the case are those original screenplays available anywhere?
                          "Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right." Hyman Mandell.

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by Dom D View Post
                            I've never come across this before. Where did you get the behind the scenes gos? I'd always thought the Matrix was just suppossed to be a sole film. If this is the case are those original screenplays available anywhere?
                            I read the interview with them in Entertainment Weekly, sometime around March of 1999, and there was an AP interview I read in the Calgary Herald around then too where they explained it, and I think there was something in Starlog in 1999-2000 talking about it. They stopped talking about all that once Warner greenlit the sequels, and it wasn't something that they talked up much before that.

                            I recall them saying that the first part was Mobius' awakening, the sequel was Trinity's awakening and the false One they talked about a little in The Matrix, and then Neo's story being the finale. They even talked about how they loved the ending, and that they hoped to do the prequels if The Matrix hit big.

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                            • This all actually makes a lot of sense. The first one has such a good ending, and the sequels are so unnecessary. I doubt i'll ever even watch them again. I remember every scene in the second one going on way too long. But now i do need to watch Animatrix. Been sitting on the shelf for decades.

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                              • Originally posted by Spaghetti Monkey View Post
                                This all actually makes a lot of sense. The first one has such a good ending, and the sequels are so unnecessary. I doubt i'll ever even watch them again. I remember every scene in the second one going on way too long. But now i do need to watch Animatrix. Been sitting on the shelf for decades.
                                The Animatrix is honestly better than the live-action trilogy. If you like it, check out Batman: Gotham knight as well, it's a similar approach to the character and is actually a canonical bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, with a story that is broken down into individual shorts that connect to tell one overall story, done by a lot of the studios that worked on The Animatrix.
                                Darcy Parker
                                Senior Member
                                Last edited by Darcy Parker; 12-30-2021, 12:06 AM.

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