Tweets for July 14, 2016

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Movies Watched -- Spy

Added on by C. Maoxian.

117 minute running time so at least 30 to 40 minutes too long. Screwball comedy starring Melissa McCarthy, who is obese. A lot of it is fat-lady humor ... it's funny but sometimes it's hard to know if the audience is laughing with her or at her. Some gross-out stuff to appeal to the teenage boys? Fast-forwarded from the midway mark, I guess. Red rating, avoid. 

I'm With Stupid

I'm With Stupid

Look Out Hollywood, Here I Come

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Father John Misty sings Funtimes in Babylon ... he grew up in an evangelical household, then outgrew it, obviously. Discovered via the Spotify algo (thx algo). 

Father John Misty Oregon Public Broadcasting Portland, OR 7-23-12 http://opbmusic.org/studio_sessions/father_john_misty

Movies Watched -- Coming Home

Added on by C. Maoxian.

109 minutes so about 10 minutes too long. I'm wondering what mainstream American audiences will make of it since they don't know anything about recent Chinese history (the Anti-Rightist campaign starting in 1957, the Cultural Revolution, political rehabilitation, etc.), so they'll be wondering: why was this couple separated for so long, why was this guy an enemy of the State, why would the child turn her father in to the authorities? If you do know recent Chinese history, it will all make sense.

It's a tear-jerker, and the piano and violin score is employed for maximum bawling effect. Using amnesia as a story device is kind of an easy way to do things, but I didn't begrudge them using it here. Gong Li plays a dotty old lady brilliantly, and the guy who plays her husband is also first rate. The ballerina actress who plays the daughter is also good. With 1.3 billion people, you can find a few who can act. The way the couple is eventually reunited is totally heart-breaking. I fast forwarded a tiny bit towards the end mainly to get some relief from sobbing (doesn't help that I understand Chinese, no subtitles needed). Not sure how to rate it, it's a green in terms of performances and story structure, but a yellow if you're looking to be "entertained."

(My favorite Zhang Yimou / Gong Li movie remains Ju Dou ... that was their peak for me.)

他是你的爸爸

Movies Watched -- The Hateful Eight

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Not on my Top 100 list since it scored 75% (including idiot bloggers) and 62% (top critics only), but I watched it anyway since it made other people's Ten Best lists. Running time is 167 (!) minutes which is nearly three hours long for those bad at math. Totally self-indulgent, it is at least an hour too long. The Weinsteins always give Tarantino total creative license, it seems. 

Anyway, in addition to being too long, the movie doesn't really work, it's stylish but ultimately empty, similar to Inglorious Bastards (and even Django in some ways, though Christoph Waltz's brilliance really carried that one). If you like Tarantino, you'll love it; if you hate Tarantino (as most mainstream critics do), you'll hate it; if you have mixed feelings about Tarantino, you'll probably not be thrilled ... I wasn't thrilled, fast forwarding from the 100 minute mark. A long-winded parlor drama which builds to an ultra-violent end. Red rating, avoid. 

Farmer's Hanky Witness

Movies Watched -- Ant-man

Added on by C. Maoxian.

115 minute running time so definitely 20 minutes too long. Watched 40 minutes before I lost interest and fast-forwarded to the end. Paul Rudd, Alicia Silverstone's older brother in Clueless, plays the reluctant superhero, and I just don't like the guy, he's a wimp. These Marvel movies are all formula, the violence lightened by smartass humor -- squarely aimed at teenagers, I suppose.  For some reason Guardians of the Galaxy worked for me, but this one didn't. At the very end, a sassy hapa beauty appeared (see below) named Anna Akana, who I guess is a YouTube star ... a rare bright moment.  Red rating, avoid. 

Rex hated it too: "Ant-Man is no Spider-Man or Avenger, especially played by Paul Rudd, who looks like a fraternity boy and has neither the charisma nor the cajones to carry an assignment of this magnitude." Indeed.

Good looking enough to wear hideous eyeglasses

Tweets for July 13, 2016

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Tweets for July 12, 2016

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