Omnibus movies Q&A thread including trivia

[Jizzelbin]

Three I've been trying to get through in the past day or so:

*Between Two Ferns The Movie*: cute little expansion of the brief absurd interviews between comedian Zach Galifianakis and various A-list celebrities.

*Le Mans*. Kind of a grim little movie about the "24 Hours of Le Mans" race. Steve McQueen vehicle plus some female eye candy, I guess. This one I did finish, but to be honest, it's kind of boring IMHO.

*Steve McQueen : The Man and *Le Mans**. Somewhat interesting little documentary about the so-called King of Cool. Probably not for everybody, but it has its moments of interest.

[Elendil's Heir]

Meh. Not a big fan of Zach G. What little I've seen of him other than in The Hangover has underwhelmed me.

I have to confess, I don't think I've seen any complete Steve McQueen movie other than The Towering Inferno. The Great Escape has been on my list for awhile, though. And did you know about this movie?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tao_of_Steve

My latest five:

Nuremberg: Its Lessons For Today
A restoration of a post-WW2 US government film, intended to highlight Nazi atrocities and warn against the dangers of political extremism, racism and anti-Semitism. Some harrowing concentration-camp imagery.

Filmmakers for the Prosecution
Documentary about the making of that film, drawing upon German archival and propaganda footage, which also supported the Allied prosecution of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. Mostly interesting.

Brazil
Hadn't seen this 1985 Terry Gilliam neo-Orwellian sf dark comedy in awhile, but it still holds up really well. My favorite bit: Robert De Niro, totally badass, as a commando plumber.

Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story
Documentary biopic about a black theologian, teacher and mystic who mentored MLK, among others.

Good Night Oppy
Documentary about the Mars rovers and how amazingly well they did, and kept on doing, long after they were expected to fail. The filmmakers shamelessly anthropomorphize the machines, but by the end you can hardly blame 'em. Worth seeing for any fan of space exploration, Mars, robotics or science generally.

[Elendil's Heir]

Here we go. My most recent five:

In the Loop
A British political satire loosely based on the runup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Not enough laughs, although Peter Capaldi is very good as an unprincipled, abusive, hard-charging spin doctor.

The Spy Who Loved Me
Arguably Roger Moore's best James Bond movie. Hadn't seen it in years, and it was fun. Barbara Bach is quite yummy as a Soviet spy; the white Lotus Esprit which turns into a missile-armed mini-submarine is awesome. I noticed, though, that the captured Soviet nuclear submarine crew is never seen - only the American and the British crews are. Hmmm. Wonder what happened to them...?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
A young author visits Guernsey island soon after WWII and discovers that a folksy book club there is hiding a secret which, of course, she feels bound to uncover. A good-looking and feel-good film.

Gangs of New York
Martin Scorsese's film about NYC street gangs before and during the Civil War. Well-produced and a fine cast, but much too long, and it badly downplays the racist roots of the July 1863 draft riots. Not sure I can recommend this movie.

Trailblazing Women in Ohio Politics
Pretty good new documentary with a self-explanatory title. Worth a look for anyone interested in women in politics generally.

[Jizzelbin]

The White Lotus. Initially amusing, but ultimately execrable HBO TV show.

Sam Peckinpah Man of Iron. Read the book. This movie is way too long.

Barry. Somewhat entertaining HBO TV show.

The Beastie Boys Story. Stage show disguised as a documentary.

Milius. Outstanding portrait of one of Hollywood's unfortunates. Full of surprisingly candid remarks from his many peers and collaborators.

Ain't In It For My Health: A film about Levon Helm. Funny. Good in companionship to Levon's autobiography.

Kate. An outstanding Netflix movie starring the very good Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the lead role as an action hero.

Jen Kirkland "Just Keep Livin'", "I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine)." Two Netflix stand-up shows by Jen Kirkland, known by some from *Drunk History*. Exceptionally funny stuff, from the perspective of a middle aged woman who doesn't mind blue language.

[Elendil's Heir]

Thanks, Jizz. You may know that the Walter character in The Big Lebowski is loosely based on John Milius.

My latest five:

We're No Angels
A 1989 remake of the 1955 Bogart movie, costarring Robert De Niro and Sean Penn as two escaped convicts in upstate Depression-era New York, pretending to be priests and trying to blend into small-town life before they can make their escape across the border to Canada. Never quite took off. Meh.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Pretty good Shrek spinoff with Antonio Banderas returning as the titular feline. Impressive animation, good cast and some very funny bits.

Boston Strangler
Keira Knightley (with the first American accent I've ever heard from her, and doing it pretty well) and Carrie Coon play spunky reporters in Sixties Boston, trying to catch a killer who seems just a bit too clever for the cops. Some plot holes and too many unanswered questions, but still worth a look.

Tetris
Lighthearted, based-on-a-true-story account of how the insanely popular videogame made its way from the Gorbachev-era USSR to the rest of the world. Taron Egerton is quite good as the businessman who jumps through a million implausible hoops to win the rights to distribute the game abroad.

Being Mary Tyler Moore
Affectionate documentary about the beloved sitcom and movie actress, who died in 2017. I learned quite a bit about her and, although the biopic acknowledges some of her shortcomings and failings, I like her even more now.

[Jizzelbin]

Tried to watch the recent-ish movie *Her*, but I couldn't understand any of it. Something about some nerds and some robot ladies. Dunno.

However, I was recently surprised by the recent *Marlowe*: I find Neeson's Marlowe compelling and pretty similar to how I imagine the character as Chandler wrote him. Maybe a little too tall, but, I'm amused.

That was a follow up to a rewatch of the 1970s Elliott Gould vehicle, *The Long Goodbye*. Eh. There is such a thing as too much Gould, and this is it, despite some very sharp dialogue and some terribly dated photography/set design.

OOOHHHH OOOOH! Tks! I *must* watch *Boston Strangler*! I love both Coon and Knightley to death as actors. I do not love the "Boston Strangler," (you know, the real one!), to my credit, but I like those two capable actresses very much.

A week or two ago, *La fille seule*: a very angsty, very French movie following then-young-"it"-girl of French movies Virginie Ledoyen through a day in the life. Captivating, artful, with superb control on the part of the filmmakers and actors, but a bit of an experience, especially for a relatively short feature film.

Also a slew of new-to-me movies featuring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who I find is not just a pretty face (and bod) but a very serious, capable actress. *Smashed* was astonishing. *Final Destination 3*. Winstead was compelling even in that popcorn thriller franchise. Even *Die Hard 4*, I guess....well, that was just some movie....but meh....it delivered, I guess.